


Am I Cursed?

by AlwaysAmused



Series: Born of Ice, Raised with Fire [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: And I know it says Byleistr in the tags but I didn't want the R on the end so deal with it, Darcy and Loki are the best brotp, Darcy is fantastic, Gen, Heimdall has common sense, Laufey is insane, Loki Angst, Loki's a clever bastard, Odin isn't Dad Of The Year, Sif really doesn't like Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-24 06:10:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2570990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysAmused/pseuds/AlwaysAmused
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Loki had asked about his heritage in Heimdall's Observatory instead of in the Vault? What if Loki hadn't gone out to seek revenge? What if Loki actually felt guilty for letting the Jotnar into Asgard? Thor AU.</p><p>THIS SERIES IS DISCONTINUED. However, all the fics included are completed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

Loki stood in the Observatory, staring at the place where Thor had stood but a moment before. He heard his father sigh wearily behind him and slowly turned his wide eyes upon the man. His mouth felt dry and his heart pounded in his chest.

“You...” Loki blinked and backed away a step, feeling slightly afraid, and definitely confused. Odin turned to him and said quietly “Go to the healing rooms.”

“Why did you do that?” Loki asked in a shaky voice. “ _How_  could you do that?”

Odin’s gaze turned hard and he growled “What would you have me do?”

Loki clenched his jaw. “Thor is one of the best warriors we have and as you have said, we are on the brink of war.”

“A war in which he started!” Odin snapped. “Or do you not understand that?”

Loki backed away another step and swallowed. “I understand… I just…” Loki didn’t know what else to say. Didn’t know what  _could_  be said. He hated not knowing what to say.  _Thor’s been banished… and it’s_ my  _fault_. Loki swallowed again as Odin passed him and he said quietly “I told you he wasn’t ready.”

Odin stopped and growled “If you’re referring to your desperate bid for power-”

“I don’t want the throne!” Loki snapped, turning. “I don’t care who sits on the throne, but I  _do_  care about the welfare of Asgard. Thor wasn’t ready and I told you as much, but you didn’t listen to me.”

“You  _lie_ ,” Odin snarled.

“You never listen!” Loki shouted, then paused; he rarely raised his voice to anyone and Odin seemed slightly taken aback by the outburst. Loki took a deep breath to calm himself, then straightened before repeating “You never listen to me. Yes, I am aware of my skills as an actor and aware that people despise me for it. But believe me when I say that I never wanted the throne. And why should I? There’s too much work involved. I would much rather continue my studies and projects undisturbed.”

Odin stared at him for a moment. Heimdall seemed bemused. Loki glanced down, then shook his head, going past Odin. The Allfather turned and said “Loki…”

“Just answer me this,” Loki said, turning. His heart was pounding again and he glanced at his bare arm. “Who am I?”

“You are Loki,” Odin replied.

“Am I cursed?”

Odin looked confused. “No, you are not.”

“Then what am I?” Loki asked, looking up. “ _What_  am I?”

“My son,” Odin said quietly. Loki sighed and turned away.

“That’s not what I meant,” Loki growled. “When we were on Jotunheim, a giant grabbed my arm. The armor... Well, you can see. But what I want to know is why my arm turned  _blue_  instead of getting frostbitten like Volstagg's. So I’ll ask again,” Loki narrowed his eyes. “What. Am. I?”

Odin sighed and said “Not here.”

“ _Yes_  here,” Loki growled, narrowing his eyes. He looked Odin up and down. “The Casket wasn’t the only thing you took from Jotunheim, was it.”

It wasn’t a question. Odin knew this and he sighed again. “This story will not be told here. Inside. Let us get your mother.” He passed Loki and started back towards the palace. Loki watched him before saying “How many others know?”

“Not here,” Odin repeated. “I promise, we will tell you, but not here. Come.”

Loki had no choice but to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin and Frigga do a truly spectacular job of telling Loki the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

“Go to your bedroom,” Odin said when they reached the place again. “I will find your mother.”

Loki nodded and left him, thankful that the halls were empty. He wet his lips and glanced around. _I’m a frost giant. I’m a frost giant. I’m a frost giant._ He continued down the hallway. _What would Thor say?_

At the thought, a memory flashed before his eyes and he stopped. _“When I’m king, I’ll hunt the monsters down and slay them all!”_

Loki shook his head to clear it, but it did nothing to rid him of the terror and doubt that sat in the pit of his stomach. He forced himself to keep walking. Thor wouldn’t actually hurt him, right? Not that he could; he was on Midgard at the moment. _And it’s your fault._ Guilt shot through him and he sighed. When he finally reached his bedroom, he opened the door and closed it behind him, leaning against it, the back of his head resting on the wood. _I should have known,_ he thought bitterly. And yet, in a way he __had__ always known. He was so very _different_ from everyone else. But this. Not even __he__ could have imagined _this_. With a sigh, he changed out of his armor and into something a bit more comfortable before sitting on his bed, legs drawn up to his chest. He closed his eyes and let his head drop to his knees, lost in thought until there was a knock at the door.

He looked up and stretched his legs out, waving a hand at the door so it opened. He took a deep breath as it opened, Frigga walking in first. She looked upset, and he chewed on his lip; Frigga being upset was never a good sign. Odin looked grim, but he always looked grim. No, it was the sort of sadness in his eyes that made Loki’s stomach drop. He clenched his jaw and his mother said “Loki…”

He pulled up a blank mask, hiding his emotions behind it as best he could. Frigga sat on the edge of the bed and Odin in the chair. Loki looked from one to the other expectantly. “Well?”

His parents glanced at each other and Loki narrowed his eyes. “I want the truth. Now.”

It as Odin who spoke first. “I found you when I found the Casket in a temple. It was after the battle, and Jotunheim was retreating, you were wrapped in blankets, left behind on the alter.” He paused and then said “Laufey's son.”

“ _ _Laufey’s__  son?” Loki repeated in disbelief.  _The son of Odin’s greatest enemy?_ “Why? Why did you take me?”

“I do not make a habit of leaving children to die in the cold,” Odin replied. “You were innocent.”

“You were knee deep in Jotnar blood!” Loki argued, scooting away from the pair of them. “And I was your enemy's child. Besides, you _never_ do anything without a purpose, so why did you take me? What _purpose_ did you want me to serve?” Loki tried to keep his voice even, but it was trembling. He'd gotten off the bed on the other side and looked at his parents.

“Loki,” Frigga said gently. “Whatever purpose you were supposed to serve, it no longer matters. It stopped mattering very soon after you came here.”

“Tell me,” Loki said, looking at Odin, who wasn't looking at him. When the man still said nothing, Loki shouted. “Tell me!”

Frigga flinched and Odin looked up at him before saying quietly “I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace through you. As your mother said, those plans no longer matter, and haven't mattered for a long time.”

Loki shook his head and took a few steps backwards. “Then.... Then I am no more than a stolen relic, locked here until you might have use of me?”

“Did you hear nothing of what I've said?” Odin asked, clearly getting frustrated. “Why do you twist my words?”

“You could have told me what I was from the beginning,” Loki said, beyond caring. His vision blurred and he forced tears back. “Why didn’t you?”

“You are my _son_ , Loki,” Odin stressed. “It matters not that you aren't my blood, I wanted only to protect you from the truth.”

“Truth?” Loki said, then laughed humorlessly. “What truth? That I'm a bloodthirsty monster from a frozen wasteland? That I am the creature that children fear?”

“Loki, that’s not what he meant,” Frigga said. “We never wanted you to feel different-”

“Well, I must say you did a truly _spectacular_ job,” Loki said with vicious sarcasm. “Of course it all makes sense _now_ why you favored _Thor_ for _all these years_!”

“Listen,” Odin pleaded, but Loki was shouting again.

“Because no matter how much you _claimed_ to _love_ me, you were always afraid of what I would become,” Loki curled his hands into fists. “What was it you used to tell me and Thor when we were children? That Jotnar are vicious and bloodthirsty? That they were savage barbarians?” Loki turned away and walked to the other side of the room and leaned his hands on the windowsill, breathing hard, eyes squeezed shut as every story he’d ever heard about frost giants came back to him. _Monsters, the lot of them._ He laughed humorlessly again. “And Thor’s vowed to slay them all,” he said, looking up at the ceiling. “And I agreed.”

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder and Loki tensed as Frigga said “You are our _son_ . You have _always_ been our son, and will always love you, no matter what.”

“Then why did you __lie__ to me?” Loki asked, voice cracking. “ _Why..._ ” _Why did you leave me to wonder what was wrong with me for so many years?_ He turned and said “Do you think I am unaware of what people say and think of me? Do you think I am unaware that they ridicule me for my use of magic? Of the names I get called because I'd prefer to use magic instead of a sword?” He wrenched away from Frigga and walked to the other end of the room, pacing. “Do you honestly think I _like_ being _different_?” He spat. “I _hate_ it. I hate the names people have given me, but does anyone ever ask that? Liar, trickster, silver-tongue, word-smith, ergi, _scar-lip_ ,” Loki stopped, throat tightening. He had to get out of there before he burst into tears like a child. A couple were already attempting to escape. He swallowed before turning and walking to the door.

“Loki, please wait,” Frigga said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Get off!” He pulled away and turned around, backing slowly towards the door. There were tears in Frigga's eyes and Odin looked so tired. Loki looked at Odin, daring him to say something.

“Where are you going?” He asked quietly.

“Away,” Loki said hoarsely, breath struggling. “Away from here.” He turned and ran, ignoring Frigga's cry of “Loki, please!”

Down the hall, right, left, down the stairs. He didn’t even focus on where he was going until he realized he was outside, barefoot. A few tears had already fallen and he looked around, wiping his eyes roughly before making a decision. He knew of multiple ways to get out of the palace and into the woods without being detected. Without a backwards glance, he started off again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I can't believe this actually got some positive response. Needless to day, I'm quite pleased. Thank you to those who left kudos, comments, and bookmarked!
> 
> Okay, so for those wondering, the "scar-lip" nickname does in fact come from the story about Sif's hair, in which Loki gets his lips sewn shut at the end. In the myth, this is where Loki begins to become truly wicked. In my mind, this is the event where Loki's relationship with his family starts to plummet downwards.
> 
> Thoughts? Opinions? Just want to say hello? Leave a comment! They fill me with happiness and make my day a bit brighter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

“We never should have let him go,” Volstagg said sadly.

“There was no stopping him,” Sif sighed.

“At least he's only banished, not _dead_ ,” Fandral pitched in indignantly from the bed. “Which is what we'd all be if the Gatekeeper hadn't told the Allfather.”

“Yes, but how did Heimdall even know where we were going?” Volstagg asked, getting treated for his arm. Sif gave him an exasperated look.

“He's _Heimdall_ , Volstagg. He probably heard our discussion about it,” she said.

“That, or Loki told him,” Hogun said.

“He _has_ always been jealous of Thor,” Fandral said, nodding a bit. “And he's more sensible, too.”

“True, but he saved our lives,” Volstagg said. “Besides, how could he have known that the Allfather would banish Thor?”

“Unless that was his intent,” Sif pointed out.

“Laufey said there were traitors in the house of Odin,” Hogun said. They all fell silent for a few moments.

Finally, it was Fandral who broke the silence. “Why is it every time you choose to speak, it has to be something dark and ominous?”

“A master of magic could _easily_ bring three Jotnar into Asgard undetected,” Hogun pointed out, ignoring Fandral's remark.

“Loki's always been one for mischief, but you’re talking about something else entirely,” Fandral said, looking doubtful. “He's jealous, sure, but a _traitor_? He knows the law and the treaty better than probably Odin himself!”

“Who else could elude Heimdall's gaze with tricks of light and shadow?” Sif argued. “Besides, Loki is far from guileless.”

“And the ceremony was interrupted just before Thor was named King,” Volstagg reluctantly added. “But it _could_ just be a coincidence.”

“We should to go the Allfather,” Sif said firmly. “Even if it is, it's awfully convenient.”

“And tell him _what_ exactly?” Fandral demanded. “'Oh, by the way, we think your son just betrayed the throne. And do us a favor; bring back Thor. There's a good fellow!'”

“It's our duty,” Sif said, folding her arms across her chest. “Any suspicions against the throne _have_ to be reported, even if they are just suspicions.”

“She's got a point,” Hogun said. “If we're right, then Loki has committed treason, and if anything happens to Odin, he's next in line for the throne. Asgard could be in danger.”

“But would Loki really do anything against Asgard?” Fandral insisted. “This is _Loki_ we're talking about, right?”

“Fandral, we have no choice!” Sif argued. “If we don't report our suspicions, we'll be breaking the law. I know Loki is your friend, but we've got to report this, _now_.”

Finally, Fandral relented. “Fine. Go report it. I, however, have to stay here until Eir clears me, so have fun.”

“I'll tell you how it goes,” Volstagg said and he left with Sif and Hogun.

* * *

 Loki was sitting at the edge of a pond. A waterfall was to his right, against the wall of a cave. He and Thor had found it years ago, but Loki still came whenever he wished to be left alone. He ran his fingers through the clear water and watched as the fish scattered, then came back, foolishly curious. He stilled his hand and they slowly approached before bumping into his fingers, tickling them. When he moved, they scattered again.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there. Quite some time, seeing as the sky was beginning to darken. _I could just stay here for the night and go back in the morning._

The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. When he'd first arrived, he'd punched at a tree and screamed until he was hoarse just to get everything out. It seemed to have helped, but his hands now hurt like Thor had accidentally smashed them with Mjolnir, a feeling he knew through an unfortunate accident.

At the thought of his brother—was Thor still his brother?—Loki sighed took his hand out of the water, wiping it on his trousers before laying back and looking at the stars. It would have been night on Midgard when Thor arrived. It would be morning now, perhaps.

 _I could go to Midgard,_  Loki thought. _Help Thor with his task... But would he even accept me?_

He wasn't sure. Thor was both predictable and unpredictable. Loki knew him, and yet he was a complete stranger. He had no idea how Thor would react to this. Would he try to kill him? It was a possibility he had to entertain for now.

Loki lifted his hands in front of his face and looked at them. He'd taken off his armor, but left his underthings on. The sleeves of his shirt slipped down to his elbows and he turned them so he could see the backs of his hands. He eventually sat up and focused more intently on them. _Maybe if I focus hard enough..._

It took a few moments, but at lost last he caught the end of the glamour and pulled on it, letting his fingertips turn blue. The hated color moved up his arms and he turned his hands over again and he narrowed his eyes and stopped the color at his elbows. Then, he inspected his hands. Patterns ran from his fingers up and his eyes traced them. He peered into the water and saw that his eyes were a deep red with black pupils. There was no iris. Patterns like the ones on his hands carried on around his forehead and cheeks. He growled and splashed the water, ruining the image as he remembered what he’d been told as a child. How many stories had he heard when he was a child? How many nightmares had sprung up from his fear of them? Then of course there were the times Thor had promised to protect him from the Frost Giants.

Loki smiled wryly and murmured “Can't save me this time, Thor.” __Not when the monster is inside of me.__ Would his parents—not his parents—tell Thor when he returned? Or would they leave that up to him? Loki groaned. He hadn't the faintest idea what to do, and he hated not knowing what to do.He opened his eyes again. The sun had set now and stars had appeared. _I could always run away..._ It wasn't like a warrior to run from a battle, but it wasn't like anyone really thought of him as a warrior anyway. Besides, he could leave easily enough; he often went for short trips around the Nine Realms. He’d once gone to Midgard for a few decades, spreading stories of the Nine Realms and such around a land known as Scandinavia. He smirked slightly. He hadn't been to Midgard in many years, though he was rather fond of the Realm. _I could always go tell Thor about my heritage._

No. That would be... disastrous. Besides, could he leave? He looked down guiltily. Asgard was on the brink of war. _How could I stop it?_ He knew the quickest way would be to slay Laufey. _Laufey's son..._

Loki shook his head angrily and growled “I am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard.” _And Heir to the Throne._

Oh.

Loki's eyes widened. Thor wasn't here. Who knew when he would be back? Thor had been the heir to the throne for some time. _Now it falls to me when Odin steps down._

The thought almost made him sick. He didn't want the throne! He'd never wanted the throne! All he ever wanted... _All I ever wanted was to be treated like Thor's equal._ Norns yes. Loki got up and began to pace, running his fingers through his short hair. Yes, there was a time when he would have given anything to be Thor's equal. _Well that's never going to happen now._ Bitterness lined the thought and Loki glared at the pond before stopping in front of it.

The moonlight shone across the surface and it was no surprise when he saw his reflection staring back at him. He dropped into a cross-legged position without taking his eyes off the water and stared at his own reflection, realizing as he did so that the Aesir glamour had returned. His eyes were a soft green, skin pale. He sighed miserably. _Who am I?_

 _You're Loki, Prince of Asgard and apparently of Jotunheim. Forgotten in both realms. Unwanted in both realms. Except, supposedly, by Mother and Father._ He shook his head. _Not my father. Maybe my father?_ He couldn't even tell. He was so tired, he just lay down on the grass and closed his eyes, questions with no answers forming in his mind. _Who am I? What do I do next?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my head, I imagine Loki and Fandral being closer to the same age, making them closer friends. From oldest to youngest, it's Volstagg, Thor, Hogun, Sif, Fandral, Loki. Thor is about 200 years older than Loki, which amounts to roughly three years older in Aesir terms. (Remembering that the average lifespan of an Aesir is about 5,000 years, and for humans, it's about 82, so every 61 or so years for us equals about one for them.)
> 
> Thank you to all who left kudos/comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heimdall's the only person with common sense. Volstagg, Sif, and Hogun tell Odin of their suspicions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

"Heimdall, where is Loki?" Odin asked with a sigh. He and Frigga had tried to find him for hours, but with no avail. The boy was simply nowhere to be found.

"He is safe," Heimdall replied evenly. "He will come to no harm."

Odin frowned. "But where _is_ he?"

"Not on the palace grounds," Heimdall said. "He went to seek privacy. He will return in the morning."

It was all the Gatekeeper would say. Odin didn't want to press further on the matter of his youngest son. Instead he said "And what of Thor?"

The corner of Heimdall's lips twitched upwards. "He is disoriented. He is currently with three people; Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Erik Selvig. He searches for Mjolnir."

"Good," Odin said. "And of Laufey?"

Heimdall's eyes narrowed. "His sons are attempting to make him listen to reason. They know Jotunheim cannot afford a war with Asgard. They fear for their people."

Odin nodded and looked away distractedly. Heimdall looked at him for a few moments and then looked back ahead of him. "Permission to speak freely, my King?"

"Granted."

"Sleep. Make Loki King in your absence," Heimdall said. "He is ready."

"Like Thor was?" Odin said, giving the Gatekeeper a skeptical look. He turned to leave.

"With all due respect, my Lord," Heimdall called after him, "Loki is not Thor."

"Thank you, Heimdall," Odin said, a note of finality in his voice. "I know the difference between my sons." He began to retreat, but was overcome by a burst of dizziness. He stopped and took a few deep breaths.  _I can hold this back. I must._

"My King," Heimdall was at his side, hand on his shoulder. "The moment you get back to the palace, you must Sleep. Let the Queen inform Loki. You have put this off for too long."

"I must go on!" Odin burst angrily, then winced at the burst of pain in his head. "We are on the brink of war!"

Heimdall sighed heavily. "And what happens if you fall in the middle of battle because of the Sleep? Odin, as your loyal servant and friend, I beg that you step and Sleep. Regain your strength. Asgard will be here when you wake."

Odin shook slightly and murmured "You're right, as always, Heimdall. Thank you."

"Always, my King." Heimdall watched Odin head back to the palace, watched Thor in Midgard, watched Loki in the woods. The Gatekeeper sighed and resumed his post.

* * *

"Allfather, we must speak with y-" Sif stopped, causing Volstagg to walk into her, causing her to stumble. "Oof! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Volstagg said, but frowned as he looked around. "Where is he?"

"I don't know, Volstagg! Clearly not here," Sif sighed. 

"He's there," Hogun said. Odin walked into the room, looking exhausted. "He doesn't look well."

"I wonder what's wrong," Volstagg said, frowning. Sif sighed and walked forwards.

"Allfather? Are you well?" She asked, inclining her head respectfully.

"Is there something you needed?" The King asked, rubbing his eye.

"Er... Well, yes there. You see we, that is to say Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg and I-"

"We have reason to believe that Loki let the Frost Giants into Asgard," Hogun said bluntly.

"Well done," Volstagg said, rolling his eyes. "Delicately put, Hogun."

"And what reason is this?" Odin asked, suddenly alert.

"When we were on Jotunheim, Laufey said that there were traitors in the House of Odin," Sif said, jumping in again.

"And you automatically thought of Loki?" Odin asked, eye turning back to her. 

"He is a master of magic," she replied. "He could do it. They are merely suspicions, however we-"

" _She_ ," Volstagg muttered.

" _We_ felt that they ought to be reported," Sif finished, glaring momentarily as Volstagg, but otherwise ignoring him.

"And yet you said nothing when Thor convinced you to go to Jotunheim, despite my direct orders?" Odin said, narrowing his eye at her. All three looked at the floor and Odin sighed. "I will take it into consideration. You are dismissed. However, if you happen to find Loki, send him to Frigga. We've been looking for him."

Not knowing what to do, the three went back to the Healing Rooms. Fandral's shoulder had been tended to and was waiting to be discharged from Eir's care. They told him everything and he frowned. "Loki's missing?"

"Surprise, surprise," Sif sighed, sitting down and rubbing her eyes. "We haven't seen him since the Observatory. Perhaps he left afterwords."

"Without telling us?" Fandral asked, raising an eyebrow.

"T'wouldn't be the first time," Volstagg shrugged. "He vanishes all the time. He'll be back eventually, he always does. He's probably just upset about Thor's banishment. Loki may be jealous of him, but he's still his brother."

"Why don't we go find him?" Fandral suggested. "Or ask Heimdall?"

"Do you truly think Heimdall would help us after what we've done?" Sif asked, throwing him a skeptical look. "No, we must find him ourselves and confront him about this."

"Oh come now," Fandral said, rolling his eyes. "If Loki does not wish to be found, then we shan't find him. We could search all night and still come up with nothing."

"Yes, yes," Volstagg interrupted. "That's all good. But before we decide upon anything, might we have dinner? I'm _starving_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I looked at the what I'd written before and thought it was all crap, so I decided to completely re-write this chapter. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, so I may come back to it later. Thanks to all who left kudos and comments!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HEY, GREEN EYES, THINK FAST *Throws throne at Loki's head with a satisfying thwack*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

Loki woke slowly to something tickling his arm. He shifted it and felt wet. _Wet? Water?_

He opened his eyes and was instantly greeted by bright sunlight. He was covered in dew and his left arm had fallen into the pond. He had been sprawled out on the edge of it, so he considered himself lucky for not falling in completely. He sighed deeply and stretched before rubbing his eyes before flicking his wet hair from his face. He then looked around and spotted his armor and shoes close by. He got up and winced, rubbing at the sore spot on his neck. _That's what you get for sleeping on the ground, you dolt,_ he thought and stretched, looking around until he saw his boots near a tree. He left them where they were; he'd pick them up before he left.

It was still early in the morning. This was no surprise to him, for he usually woke early. However, he was quite hungry. That was of no trouble, for he knew where he could find food around. He set off around the pond to the bushes on the other side, collecting some of the juicy deep purple berries that were on them. He sat down and ate them carefully, trying not to get the juice on his clothes. As he ate, he thought about what he might do next. _I could go back, or I could go on. Run away. Go anywhere._ He knew of passages all around Asgard that took him to various realms. He could even go to Midgard if he pleased. But he didn't, really.

He sighed as he finished eating and splashed water on his face from the pond before drinking some. Then, he stood.  _I could go anywhere. Anywhere I wanted. No one could stop me. No one would be able to find me._

He knew what the others would say. That he was a coward. But he'd heard worse. He tried to remember everything he’d ever been called. Liar, trickster, betrayer, lie-smith, wordsmith, weaver of words, story-teller, disturber of the peace, evil, coward, weak, unusual, the Dark Prince, the god of mischief, the god of fire... _Oh the irony,_ he thought wryly. But out of all the nicknames he had received, he liked the sound of “silver tongue” best. He took it as a compliment when people called him that, for it was true; he had always had a way with words, and was rather proud of it. He could hurt anyone with a few well-placed words and he was quiet. But people always forgot that silence didn't mean he wasn't listening. And oh did he listen; he was so full of secrets and scandals that he could cause chaos in a matter of minutes should he ever choose to reveal them.

He started wandering around the forest, still unsure of what to do.  _I should go back. Apologize for running off._ But how could he go back? Part of him wanted to pretend that nothing had happened, but the other part could never forget. _I'm a monster. And no one can ever know._

Well, he _was_ very good at pretending. Very good. He'd pretended for most of his life that he didn't care what people thought of him, but, well, that was easier said than done. No one had ever asked why he lied so often. It didn't always used to be that way, though. He remembered when he once told truths. However, they were always truths that no one ever wanted to hear. For instance, he'd once told Sif that the only reason people liked her and that Thor paid her any attention at all was because of her beautiful golden hair. She hadn't believed him, and had called him a liar. Then-

He shook his head suddenly, trying to clear his thoughts and instead turned back to the matter at hand. He finished the berries he had picked and dipped his hands in the pond to rinse them off. Finally, he made a decision; he would go back. He would speak with his parents, telling them that he needed to wander for a while, then pack a few things and leave for a... Well, he'd figure out that part later. He had taken long trips before, so it wouldn't seem unusual to anyone outside. With a sigh, Loki dried his hands on his trousers before making his way back to the palace. No one was on the grounds, so he slipped inside and made his way to the throne room.

When he got inside, he saw Hogun and Sif standing near the door, having a conversation in hushed voices. When they saw him, Sif said “Loki!”

“What is it?” Loki sighed. “I'm in no mood to—”

“Where have you  _been_?” Sif hissed. Loki blinked at her, taken aback.

“Since when does it matter to you?”

“The King and Queen have been trying to find you since last night,” she replied, looking worried. “Something's wrong with the Allfather; he looks exhausted. HE said if we saw you to say that you should go to your mother immediately.”

“Where is she?” Loki asked, frowning.

“In the Allfather’s room,” Sif replied. Loki swore and took off running down the hall, passing servants and guards. He stopped at Odin’s bedroom and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” came Frigga’s voice. Loki opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him again and leaning against it, hands on the handle. He bit his lip and looked at the scene before him. Odin was sitting down and she was standing. They were clearly having an argument of sorts. Frigga's eyes widened when she saw him and she breathed “ _Loki_! ”

"Are you okay?" Loki asked, looking at Odin.

"That is unimportant," Odin said, waving a hand. "Loki, I am sorry."

"Oh." Loki shifted, suddenly remembering that he'd left his boots in the woods. And was a bit wet.

"Where were you?" Frigga asked, looking concerned.

"Here and there," Loki replied, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Odin. Sif was right; he looked exhausted. "Sif said you wished to see me?"

"Yes," Odin said. He stood and Frigga bit her lip, eyes moving from Loki to Odin, and back again. "Loki, get on your knees."

Loki glanced at Frigga and hesitantly did as he was told, bowing before the Allfather in the traditional way.

"Loki Odinson." Odin started. "Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?"

"Wh-What?" Loki's eyes turned up in confusion. Odin looked down at him.

"Do you?"

"Yes...?" Loki replied, unsure.

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

Loki's eyes widened as he udnerstood. "Why are you doing this?"

"Thor is banished," Odin replied. "Asgard needs a King."

"You're King!" Loki argued, standing up and shaking his head. "I'm not- I don't even _want_ it!"

"Loki," Odin said calmly. "I am about to fall into the Odinsleep. I've put it off for far too long; I cannot make it through a war with Jotunheim without regaining strength. You  _must_ accept the Throne; you're Asgard's hope."

"No, I'm not!" Loki said, shaking his head again and backing away a little.

"You are heir!" Odin said. "And you are currently the only heir! I cannot put this off for much longer. Now _do you swear to preserve the peace_?"

Loki licked his lips and glanced at Frigga. She smiled and said "Loki, darling, it's not forever if you don't wish it."

_I should tell them. Now, I should tell them that it was me, that I let the Frost Giants in. It was me it was me it was-_

"I swear."  _Damn_.

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?" Odin continued.

Loki nodded, eyes still downcast. His mouth was dry and he tried swallowing. Odin raised his eyebrows. "Loki?"

"I swear," he croaked. Odin nodded, satisfied.

"Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you King. Rise."

Loki rose to his feet, eyes still not turned up. "What happens if Thor returns before you wake?"

"The Throne is yours unless you wish to give it to him," Odin said simply. "If he attempts to take it from you by force, send him away again, for he has not yet learned his lesson."

 Odin paused for a moment before saying "Loki. Look at me."

Loki did so, chewing the inside of his lip. Odin held out Gungnir to him. Loki glanced at the spear before looking back. "Is...? Do you ant me to...?"

"Yes, Loki," Odin replied, still holding it out. Loki reached out, hand hovering above the spear, hesitant.

"Take it," Odin said quietly.  _I can't,_ Loki thought.  _I'm not worthy, I can't._ He continued to chew on the inside of his cheek before wrapping his fingers around the spear and lifting it. Odin stepped back and said "You are King until I awake."

Loki nodded, too stunned to actually say anything for once. He stared down at the spear in his hands and said "Does... Does Thor know?"

"No," Odin said. He winced suddenly and Frigga said softly "Odin, you  _must_ -"

"I know!" He snapped, then winced again. Calmer, he repeated "I know." He looked up at Loki and said "And I shall rest easier knowing that the Realms are in good hands."

Loki's laugh was bitter in his head. He managed to keep a straight face and said "I'll... do my best."

Frigga smiled as Odin sat on the bed. “You’re a good son, Loki," she said fondly. The guilt set in his stomach like a stone and he took a deep breath.

"Who else knows of this arrangement?"

"None," Odin murmured, Frigga helping him to lay down. Loki nodded absently, mind wandering. Finally, he turned and went towards the door.

“There are things that must be done,” he said. "Sleep well, Father. Asgard will be here when you wake."

Frigga nodded and said “I shall remain here, Loki. If you need advice, come to me."

"Thank you," Loki said. He opened the door before looking down at himself and snorted slightly.  _Made King half wet and with no shoes. This is going to go well._  With a roll of his eyes, he made his way back to his rooms to dress properly, then made his way to the Bifrost.

"My King," Heimdall said, bowing his head when he approached. Loki blinked in surprise and Heimdall's mouth twitched slightly. “You wish to go to Midgard?”

“Yes,” Loki said. “Thank you.”

Heimdall nodded and said "Good luck."

Loki grimaced and said "Thank you, Heimdall." The Gatekeeper activated the Bifrost and Loki was soon hurtling towards Midgard, thinking as he did so  _I'll need all the luck in the Nine Realms_ _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer Lavanyalabelle's question about Sif, it's my headcanon that she mistrusts him. I think it's clear in the second movie that she rather lives Thor, but Loki has always been Thor's favorite. Also there's the part where Loki cuts off her hair, which might come in a bit later.
> 
> I hope this chapter is satisfactory enough. I had to re-write most of it because I wanted Odin to actually be awake when Loki was made King, but I still kinda wanted to throw the throne at Loki with a THINK FAST, MOTHERFUCKER. I hope I successfully did just that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets Thor away from Coulson instead of Selvig. Darcy decides that she and Loki are going to be bros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Finding Thor was not a difficult feat. He'd gotten himself into trouble already, though Loki wasn't exactly surprised by this news. But Thor just looked so...  _lost_. He sat in the chair, clearly not listening to the man speaking to him, asking him where he'd been trained.

When at long last the man left, Loki sighed and said “I thought he’d never leave.”

Thor looked up instantly and said “Loki? What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you,” Loki said quietly. He'd cast an illusion over himself so he appeared as a mortal, Only Thor could see him.

“What’s happened?” Thor asked instantly. “Is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to Father—”

“Father has fallen into the Odinsleep,” Loki cut him off. Thor stared at him.

“...What?”

“He'd been putting it off until you were made King,” Loki said. He swallowed and then said quietly “Thor, I saw him just before he went into it. He didn't look well. He looked exhausted and I'm-" Loki stopped and took a deep breath. "I don't know if he's going to wake up this time. Mother worries the same, but she doesn't say it. He's made me King until he wakes."

“Can I come home?” Thor asked, looking hopeful. Loki felt a pang of guilt.

"I can't, Thor. You know I can't," he said.

“But Loki—”

“No,” Loki said, looking up again. “Because of you, I now have to find a way to halt a war with Jotunheim. No, Thor; I cannot bring you home until you finish the task that was appointed to you.”

Thor looked at him, open mouthed. “But...”

“However, I  _can_ get you out of here," Loki waved a hand around the interrogation room. "Beyond that, I cannot help you in your quest."

Thor looked up and said "You... You can get me out?"

Loki gave him knowing look and a smirk. "Did you forget in your short absence who I am, Thor? Of course I can get you out, don't be daft. Give me a few minutes. Ask if you can leave. If they say 'no,' it means you're under arrest. If you are under arrest, ask if you can phone your brother and call this number." Loki took out a slip of paper and handed it to Thor. "If they say you can leave, get up and leave. Okay? Oh, and try to act drunk, yes? Most do things when they're under the influence of spirits. Understand."

"I... think? Loki, what is a phone?" Thor asked, frowning. Loki sighed.

"They'll give you a rectangular box with a screen and numbers. Press those numbers into the box and press the green button."

"How do _you_ know what a phone is?" Thor asked indignantly. 

"I visit Midgard more often than you do," Loki replied shortly. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Loki left the room and walked over to where Mjolnir was. He was still invisible to everyone else and he gripped the handle of the hammer, giving it a tentative pull. It didn't move. Loki wasn't very surprised, but was slightly disappointed nonetheless.

A few minutes later, Loki's phone rang. He answered it and said "Okay, just say 'Hello, Sebastian.'"

"What?" Thor asked and Loki could practically see the frown.

"Never mind. Explain what happened and why you're in there anyway, because I never asked before," Loki said.

"I... I came in here to get Mjolnir," Thor replied. "It didn't move. Why didn't it move?"

"Of course it didn't," Loki sighed. "Father put a spell on it. When you become 'worthy,' you'll be able to pick it up and come home."

"Oh," Thor said. "How... How do I do that?"

"I am unsure," Loki shrugged. "Okay, now just say 'thank you, goodbye' and hang up by pressing the red button. Then tell them that your brother Sebastian will be there in a half hour. Then, say nothing. Don't talk; if they think you're an American, then they'll give you the right to remain silent."

"Why?" Thor asked, frowning.

"Just do it," Loki said in exasperation.

"Thank you, goodbye," Thor said. A moment later, he hung up. Loki hung up after him and waited, planning what to say when his phone rang again. Smiling, Loki picked it up.  _Right on time_.

"Hello?"

"Who is this?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"You know, typically when a person calls, it's because they already know the number," Loki replied, grinning.

"A man just called you before on this phone. Who are you?" The man asked again.

"I am Sebastian," Loki replied. "As I said to my brother, I'll be there in half an hour."

"I'll be waiting," the man replied and hung up. Loki rolled his eyes and continued waiting until he finally got up and walked out, going to one of the men wearing black suits.

"Good evening," Loki said. "I am looking for my brother."

“Your... brother?” The man said.

 _Idiot,_ Loki thought. He smiled and said “Yes, my brother. He's big, blond, and quite strong. I was wondering if perhaps I could take him home with me?”

“Um...” The man blinked and said “Yeah... Hold on, I’ll see what I can do. Wait here.”

The man left and Loki waited. A few moments later, a man with a stern sort of face walked over to him, looking faintly bemused.

"I'm assuming you're Sebastian?"

“Yes,” Loki said, recognizing the voice from the man who had called. "And who might you be?"

"Agent Coulson," the man said. "You don’t much look alike."

“I'm adopted,” Loki replied with a tight smile. "My brother's name is Donald Blake."

“Uh-huh,” the man said. “You mind if we take a moment to verify his identity?”

“Take all the time you need,” Loki said, smiling a little. A man started working at a computer and Loki looked around a bit. “And I apologize for the damage he has caused... He’s not quite right.”

“Hmm,” the Agent said. He walked over to the computer and said “It says here he’s an M.D.”

 _A what?_ Loki frowned and said “He is.”

The man looked him up and down for a minute. Loki gave him a curious look and said “I hope there isn't a problem, Agent Coulson. Am I allowed to take my brother, or not?”

Coulson smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Then, he said to the man next to him “Release Dr. Blake to his brother.”

He then turned back to Loki and said “Make sure he stays in town for the next few days in case we need to talk to him again.”

“Of course,” Loki said, smiling. “We're staying with a few friends in town.”

“Oh, yes,” Coulson said, not really listening. “Come on, we'll take you to see your brother.”

Loki followed another agent to the room where Thor was. When the door opened, Loki said "Come, brother; I'm allowed to take you."

Thor looked bemused, but smiled and stood up, stumbling a little bit by accident. Loki turned to Coulson and said “Thank you again, Agent. I apologize for my brother's actions.”

Thor followed him and once they were well away, Loki said quietly “They know your name is not Donald Blake, I am sure of it. Wherever you are staying, I suggest you _stay there_.”

"Thank you, Loki," Thor said. He shivered slightly and Loki glanced at him before sighing and waving a hand at him. Thor's clothes cleaned and dried themselves and Thor said "Ah. That's better."

Loki didn't reply. They walked in in an awkward silence, both unsure as of what to say.  _You should tell him,_ Loki thought.  _Tell him you're adopted. Tell him what you've found out. Tell him everything_.

A car was coming up the road. Noticing that he wasn't paying attention, Loki grabbed Thor's arm and pulled him over to the side of the road. To his surprise, the car stopped and a man got out. Recognition lit up in Thor's eyes and he said “Dr. Selvig!”

“Thor? How the hell did you get out of there? Jane said... Who’s this?” The man asked. Thor grinned and put an arm around Loki.

“This is my little brother, Loki!” Thor said, smiling. "He got me out."

Loki sighed and said “Get off me, you oaf.” To the man, he said “I _do_ hope my brother has not been like this the entire time he’s been here?”

“What, destroying stuff?” Selvig asked, raising an eyebrow. Loki groaned.

“Thor, try to remember that you are a guest in this realm,” he sighed.

“Come, brother,” Thor said, ignoring him. “I would like you to meet Jane.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “In case you've forgotten  _brother_ , I have a realm to rule and a war to stop.”

“It will only take a little while!” Thor insisted, still smiling. Loki sighed and snapped “Oh,  _fine_.”

They all got back into car and they went off to a small village, Thor telling Loki of all the things that had happened since he'd been banished. Selvig looked like he didn't believe a word that was coming out of his mouth, but remained silent. When they got out, a young woman with light brown hair ran out and said “Oh my God, Thor! Are you okay?”

“He’s fine,” Loki sighed. Se looked at him and frowned.

“Who’re you?”

Loki smiled at her and said “I am Loki, son of Odin and King of Asgard. I assume you are Jane?”

“Um…. yeah,” she said, blinking and holding out a hand. Loki accepted it and kissed it gently before saying “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Jane.” He then turned to the other woman who had followed Jane out and raised his eyebrows. “And who might you be?”

“Darcy,” she said promptly. "I'm Jane's intern."

Loki smiled at her charmingly and said “Darcy. A lovely name for a lovely woman.” He took her hand and kissed it. “I am Loki of Asgard.”

"Oh, so, are you like, one of those Norse Gods?" Darcy asked, blinking through rectangular glasses, dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Loki stepped back and let the illusion of Midgardian clothes fall to reveal his battle armor, still smiling. Darcy's and Jane's eyes widened and Darcy said "Well, that proves that. Can I keep him?" She turned back to Loki. "Can I keep you?"

Loki smirked and turned back to Thor. “I am sorry for not being able to bring you home,” he said. "And I am... I am sorry you got banished."

“No, I am sorry,” Thor sighed. He looked down and said “Loki... thank you for coming here.”

Loki smiled a little and said “If more happens, I shall send someone to inform you. Farewell, Thor.” He walked off a ways and looked at the sky, calling “Heimdall, I am ready to return now.” He had done what he had meant to do, however the stone of guilt still rest heavily in his stomach as he went home again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki goes to meet with His Royal Pain In The Ass, King Laufey of Jotunheim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Loki wondered if Jotunheim was always cold, or whether it was on a different time cycle, making it night when it was day on Asgard. It was then that he remembered that Jotunheim had a sun, however it didn't seem to emit any heat. Or, it didn't  _anymore_. Perhaps it had once, a long time ago.

It hardly mattered. Loki made his way towards the half-ruined temple. It was easy to get inside, but once he was, frost giants appeared on all sides, pointing long spears of ice at him. He stopped and Laufey's voice rang out “Tell me why I shouldn't kill you.”

“I've come alone and unarmed,” Loki replied evenly, looking at the blade in front of his face before glancing around. There were fifteen or so Jotnar behind him, and two standing beside Laufey's throne.  _His sons,_ Loki thought.

“To what end?” Laufey replied, narrowing his eyes.

“To make you another proposition,” Loki replied, lifting an eyebrow. Laufey studied him before smiling humorlessly.

“So _you're_ the one who let us into Asgard,” he said.

“You're welcome,” Loki replied, matching his tone. Laufey sneered.

“My men are dead, and I have no Casket. You are a deceiver!” He reached out and grabbed Loki around his neck. Loki resisted the change of skins and he clenched his teeth.  _He can't know. Not yet, he can't know. It's better for all of us if he doesn't know..._

"I am one of the strongest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, and until Odin awakes from the Odinsleep, I sit on the throne of Asgard. As such, Asgard is my responsibility.” He held his hands behind his back and continued “I've come to put an end to my brother's wrongs against Jotunheim,” Loki said. “I wish to create a new treaty with Jotunheim and avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Neither Jounheim nor Asgard are in need of a war. My brother committed treason by coming here, and he knew that. He has been suitably punished by the Allfather.”

“As I recall,  _you_  were with him,” Laufey growled, hand still curled around Loki's throat.

“I manipulated him into coming," Loki shrugged. "He is reckless and dangerous, I merely wished to prove he would make an unsuitable King. I did not expect things to go so far here and I admit it was a failure on my part."

“Then why have  _you_  not been punished as well?” Laufey demanded.

“Because I did not get caught,” Loki said. He took a deep breath and said “As I have said, I wish to create a new treaty with Jotunheim. There needn't be unnecessary war for my brother's recklessness.”

“I want the Casket, Deceiver,” Laufey growled, narrowing his eyes. "That is my price."

“The Casket is a spoil of war and will remain in Asgard,” Loki said shortly.

“We get the Casket or it's war,” Laufey snarled. “No other negotiations will be made otherwise.”

"Father, consider," one of the Jotnar behind him said quietly. "You would cause pointless bloodshed for it?"

"Quiet, Byleist," Laufey snapped.

"He's got a point," the other remarked. "How many lives are you willing to sacrifice?"

"Helbindi, Byleist, leave us," Laufey snapped. The two looked at each other and Loki looked after them.

"You should listen to your sons, King Laufey," Loki said before the dismissed Jotnar could go. You, as a king, have a responsibility to your people.”

“Do not tell me how to rule my Realm, child!” Laufey snarled. “Jotunheim has _suffered_ from the loss of the Casket! Asgard does not use it, nor does it need it as we do. Return the Casket to Jotunheim; only then I will hear you out, little boy.”

Anger ignited in Loki, but he remained a mask of calm. “Very well. I shall... consider it. You will have a reply soon.”

“Three days,” Laufey growled. “You have _three days_ , or our war beings.”

“I'll consider myself warned,” Loki drawled and turned. He felt an arrow being shot at him and he lifted his hand to catch it. He looked down at the arrow of ice in his hands and sighed, dropping it to the floor. “Good evening, King Laufey. You will have an answer withing three days.”

He left the temple and walked back to the Bifrost site, calling “Heimdall, I am ready to return.”

As he stepped out of the Bifrost, Heimdall glared at him. Loki raised his eyebrows slightly and said “What troubles you, Gatekeeper?”

“I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim, but could neither see nor hear you for the first part of your visit. You were shrouded from me, like the Frost Giants who entered this Realm,” Heimdall replied.

Loki tilted his head slightly and said “Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service.”

“Or perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see,” Heimdall said. Loki straightened and studied Heimdall for a moment.

“Do you not trust me because of my heritage, because I can hide myself from you, or for another reason?” He asked softly. “You know what I am; you are no fool. But I can tell when one does not trust me.”

Heimdall remained silent. Seeing that he was going to say nothing, Loki said “You have great power, Heimdall. Tell me, did Odin ever fear you?”

“No,” Heimdall replied shortly.

“And why is that?” Loki pushed.

“Because he is my King, and I am sworn to obey him,” the Gatekeeper said.

“Exactly. Just as you're sworn to obey me now,” Loki said. “Correct?”

Heimdall narrowed his eyes and didn't answer for a moment. Then, “Yes.”

“Good,” Loki said. “Then know that everything I do is for the sake of Asgard. No one is to enter Jotunheim but me, unless given either my permission or the Queen's.”

“And what of Thor?” Heimdall asked. Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“When he has completed the task appointed by the Allfather, return him home immediately. I care not if people visit him in the meantime.” Loki then turned and left the Observatory, only too aware of Heimdall's eyes on his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Eliyes for bringing my attention to the mistake on the last chapter; I've gone back to correct it.
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter. There wasn't that much to add on from what I'd already written, and I changed a rather significant detail. I'm thinking on changing the plot from what I already have to make everything a bit more interesting. I also wanted to point out that Helbindi is the eldest of Laufey's children and Byleist is the youngest. Yes, Loki is the middle child.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frigga figures some things out, and the Warriors Three and Sif think Loki's insane. Loki sort of wants to lock them in a closet and throw away the key for a while so he doesn't have to deal with them for a while, but he also needs them, so he resists the urge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Frigga looked up as Loki walked in, carefully slipping inside and closing the door. She saw the look on his face and said “Loki, what’'s wrong?”

“I went to Jotunheim to try and create a new treaty with Laufey,” Loki said, sitting down in the chair next to her, glancing at the sleeping form of Odin. “Unfortunately, he says there will be no negotiations until he's been promised the Casket. I've three days to decide whether I'm giving it to him or not.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “If he does not get a reply, he will take it as a signal to go ahead with this war. Neither of us truly wish for unnecessary bloodshed, but he's unwilling to cooperate until he has it.”

“What is your current answer?” Frigga asked.

“I told him I would consider it,” Loki said, rubbing his eyes. He then looked at Odin and said “I don't want this war. No one wants it except for Laufey. His sons tried to persuade him to just make the treaty with me.” Loki looked at the ceiling and sighed. “I may just have to give it to them. They will not have access to the Bifrost, so they cannot get anywhere with it. And it's not like we _use_  it; it's just locked up in the Vault...”

“Loki,” Frigga said, voice hesitant. "May I ask you a question?" Loki closed his eyes and hummed in response. She hesitated again and Loki opened his eyes, looking at her. Her silence and hesitation was concerning.

"Mother, are you alright?" He asked. "Father will wake, if that is what you fear; we must have hope."

"No, no," she said. "It's not that, it's..." She looked down and then said "Loki, did you let the Jotnar into the Vault?"

Everything stopped. She said something else after that, but he didn't hear it, his thoughts and heart racing. He blinked a few times, rapidly, and said "Sorry? Did- Could you repeat that?"

"Did you let the Jotnar into the Vault?" She repeated calmly. "And if so, why?"

Loki continued to blink at her, trying to think of what to say. She didn't look _angry_. Rather, she looked like she had just asked him a question concerning a difficult bit of magic she was trying to teach him. Hel, she didn't even look particularly  _upset_ about it either, just calm. Then again, it was from Frigga he had learned to control his emotions. At this thought, he controlled his face into a thoughtful expression and nodded like he was considering the question.

"I'm impressed," he said at last. "How did you figure it out?"

"Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif told the Allfather of their suspicions," she replied. "And he told me before he fell into his slumber. I then remembered that you were trying to learn a concealing spell a few years ago. Now why did you do it?"

Loki looked at Odin, shifting in his chair a bit. "To prove a point."

"And what was that?" She asked. Loki got up and walked to the door. "Loki, what point could you have possibly been trying to make?"

He looked back regretfully and said quietly “Mother, I swear to you I will explain myself soon,” he said. “I will accept any punishment that the Allfather sees fit when he wakes, but until then, I've a decision to make and a war to prepare for. Excuse me.”

He walked out and down the hall, heading towards the throne room. When he got there, he found Sif and the Warriors there, waiting for them. He sighed and said “Yes?”

“When are we going to prepare for war?” Sif asked. It sounded like a challenge. Loki straightened slightly.

“There is not going to be a war, if I can help it,” he replied. “Laufey has agreed to a new treaty under once condition.”

“And the condition is?” Hogun asked, raising an eyebrow. Loki's lips twisted into a wry smile.

“Can you not guess? He wants the Casket.”

They all stared at him in disbelief and Fandral said “And you’re just going to  _give_  it to him?”

“What choice do I have?” Loki replied. “If you have any suggestions, I would be happy to hear it. If I can avoid this war, I will.”

“Loki—” Volstagg tried, but Loki cut across him.

“The last war with the Jotnar lasted two centuries and killed countless, both Asgardian and Jotnar, along with a few humans,” Loki said firmly. “Is  _that_  what you want me to do? Lay down the lives of a thousand men for one Casket? The Jotnar have no access to a Bifrost and cannot attempt to take any Realm. Laufey is not willing to even  _consider_  a treaty unless the Casket is returned to him.”

“And you’re just going to give it to him?” Sif demanded. “It is a spoil of war! Those monsters have  _no right—_ ”

“Enough,” Loki said, voice going quiet, face serious. When they became quiet, he continued “We have no use for the Casket. Yes, it is a spoil of war. I understand this as well as any other. But would you rather lose the Casket, or the lives of thousands? Because from the way it looks, you would rather sacrifice thousands, and that is not something I am willing to do. It is _unnecessary_. And if all goes to plan, we will not only have a treaty, but an alliance.”

“An  _alliance_?” Fandral burst out. “Loki, have you gone  _mad_? They cannot be trusted!”

Loki snapped his gaze to the man and said “Careful of your words, Fandral. And consider this; the Jotnar are a warrior race. They would make powerful, strong allies.”

“But they're  _Frost Giants_ ,” Fandral said, trying to convey the importance of this. "Can we really trust them?"

“What makes you think I plan on trusting them?” Loki said, raising an eyebrow. He lifted a hand and a perfect replica of the Casket appeared there. “Should Laufey prove himself trustworthy then he shall get the real one. If he betrays me, then he shall find that he has a fake.”

He then turned and said “However, we shall ready for battle anyway. If Laufey turns on us then we will need to be ready.”

“Are you going to bring someone with you when you go back to Jotunheim?” Volstagg asked.

“I am,” Loki said. “But not any of you.”

They all looked a little offended and Loki sighed. “Not because you are not capable, but because you were with Thor when he attacked. If I could, you four would be my first choices, however I fear none of you would be welcomed.”

They all looked disappointed now, but Sif nodded and said “We understand.”

“Good,” Loki said. He looked at Hogun and said “If we are going to prepare for war, I want to know if Vanaheim will aid us.”

Hogun nodded. Loki then turned and said “Sif, check our defenses. Make sure they're in perfect condition and get someone to fix them if they're broken. Fandral, check that we have supplies. We've three days to ready ourselves. Volstagg, make sure we have number of our own; I don’t want to have to rely on Vanaheim for protection.”

"What of Thor?" Sif asked.

"What of him?" Loki asked.

"Are you not going to bring him back?"

Loki sighed. "No, Sif, I'm not going to bring Thor back. He must complete the task the Allfather gave him."

"But-" she struggled for a moment. "But he is your _brother_! He is the best warrior we have!"

"He started this war!" Loki snapped. "Or have you forgotten that?" He looked around at all of them. "I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know that he's dangerous. You know he's _reckless_. And that is not what we need right now. I will not stop any of you from seeing him, or from helping him, but I'm currently otherwise preoccupied."

"And what of the Frost Giants?" Fandral asked. Loki looked at him and frowned. Fandral sighed sand said "Well, we still don't know how they got in, do we?"

"What do you think I was doing the other night?" Loki lied. "I've nearly got it figured out. I'll take care of it. You all have your orders; you are dismissed."

The Warriors Three and Sif nodded and left Loki alone. Loki looked after them, sighing and closing his eyes. Tilted his head up, he opened his eyes again and muttered “Yggdrasil give me strength.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to spoil you guys with two chapters today since the last one was kind of short. Thank you for your reviews and kudos; I've been bragging to my friends and family, and they're probably sick of it by now, but has been the highlight of my month, so thank you again!
> 
> Also, I'm listening to the song "Landfill" by Daughter. It's a neat song and reminds me of Loki and his relationship with his family. It's sad, but really pretty.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor finds out that Loki can be scary when he's angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

“You promised them  _what_?” Thor stared at Loki with wide eyes. “Loki, how could you  _do_ that?”

“Quite easily,” Loki said calmly, sitting across from his adoptive brother. He sensed that Jane Foster and her friend Darcy were listening in the other room.

“But Loki, they're  _Frost Giants_!” Thor exclaimed. “You cannot trust a Frost Giant!”

Loki flinched slightly and looked down. “Thor, do you trust  _me_?”

Thor blinked. “Wh...? Yes, of course I do.” He frowned. “I always have. Why do you question this?”

"Then trust my judgement on this," Loki said. "I  _have_ to give Laufey the Casket; there is no other way!"

"You can figure something else out," Thor shrugged. "You do not  _have_ to trust them." 

"The Frost Giants are not actually that different from us," Loki bristled. "Laufey's sons are trying to convince him not to go ahead with this war. It seems that he is the only one who truly wants it. Do not judge the entire race from just Laufey."

Thor rolled his eyes and didn't look convinced. Loki swallowed and asked "Thor, if  _I_ were a Frost Giant, would you still trust  _me_?"

Thor frowned. "Of course, you're still Loki," he said. "Why?" He grinned jokingly. "Are you a Jotun?"

Loki didn't reply for a moment. Finally, he said “Thor, do you remember when I was born?”

Thor sighed and said “Loki, I was only about two-hundred years old, of course I don’t.”

Loki sighed and said “True, however...” Loki bit his lip and said “I was born he day before the War with Jotunheim ended. And... Well, I wasn't born on Asgard.”

Thor looked confused now. “Of course you were,” he said, incredulously. “Where else would you have been born?”

Loki didn't reply. He looked down at his hands instead and willed the Aesir glamour to fade away. His hands turned blue and it went up his arms. Thor paled and Loki said quietly “The Casket was not the only thing the Allfather took from Jotunheim that day, Thor.” He looked up and Thor flinched. Loki clenched his jaw and continued “Father found me in a temple, abandoned to die because I was too small for a giant. When he picked me up, my skin turned an Aesir color.” He smiled wryly. “I was born a son of Laufey.”

“ _Laufey’s_  son?” Thor said in disbelief. “Our  _enemy_?”

Loki nodded. “The Allfather took me because he had hoped I could bring peace between the two Realms. I plan to fulfill that purpose.” He stood and the Aesir glamour came back. "I should go."

"Loki," Thor said, also standing. "Loki, when did you find out? How long have you known?"

"Since Jotunheim," Loki replied. "One of the Jotnar grabbed my arm, but instead of getting frostbitten like Volstagg's, it just turned blue. I confronted Father about and he and Mother told me."

Thor looked down and said softly "This is all my fault."

Loki felt a pang of guilt. He looked down and said "Well... Not quite..."

Thor looked up again. "It was! Loki, I dragged you along to Jotunheim! I started a war! This is my fault; Father was right. I am not going to be a good King, and I betrayed those I love most." He looked at Loki and said "Brother, I am sorry."

"It's not your fault," Loki said. "I..." He swallowed again and blurted out "I manipulated you into going to Jotunheim!" Thor's eyes widened and Loki continued before he lost the guts. "I let the Frost Giants in on your coronation because I told Father you weren't ready and he didn't believe me! I told Heimdall to get Father, but I never thought he'd  _banish_ you, and I never anticipated that we'd actually reach Laufey. I knew that they wouldn't be able to take the Casket because of the Destroyer, but it wasn't your fault, it was mine, all mine, and now I need to fix everything. Though," he added as an afterthought. "You really did start the war. I'm not responsible for the fact that you get insulted so easily."

Thor was staring at him, completely shocked. He fell back into his chair and stared ahead, eyes still wide, face a bit pale. He opened his mouth a few times, as though wanting to say something, but not being able to find anything to spit out. Loki remained silent for a few minutes, watching Thor warily. He swallowed and finally looked down, murmuring“I am sorry, brother. If you even still consider me as such. I did not mean for this to happen.”

He turned and walked towards the door, but Thor called "Loki?"

Loki stopped and turned. “Yes?”

Thor stood and walked over to him. Loki willed himself to stay still and not back away a step, though every nerve in his body was screaming at him to flee as fast as he could. Thor came to a stop in front of him, hurt and anger and sadness in his eyes. Loki looked down, shamed.

“Loki, you will  _always_  be my brother,” Thor said quietly. “No matter what you've done, no matter what you are. I cannot say I am not angry at you, but I understand why you did what you did. It doesn't excuse it," Thor added, "but I understand. And I am sorry too; I did not know what you were, I would never have said those terrible things if I had. I care not about your heritage, you are my little brother, and nothing will change that."

Loki stared at him in shock, completely speechless for a moment. Thor grinned slightly and said "Are you speechless? Have I actually rendered the great silver tongue   _speechless_?" He looked delighted.

“You truly do not care?” Loki said quietly, not daring to believe it.

“I cannot say it is not a shock,” Thor admitted with a shrug. “However, it is true.” Thor's smile faded a little and he said “But why did you do it? Why did you let them in?”

Loki sighed. “A few days before the coronation, I spoke with Father. I told him I didn't believe you were ready, but he wouldn't believe me. He brushed it off as a desperate bid for power.” Loki glared at his hands bitterly. “I told him that I did not want the throne, but that you should wait perhaps a century more.”

“And so you felt the need to prove your point?” Thor said, frowning. When Loki nodded, he said “Why?”

Loki’s head snapped up. Hurt and anger flashed across his face and he snapped “Because  _no one ever listens to me_! Because Asgard is my  _home_  and I wanted to see it taken care of! Because I appeared to be the  _only_  person who saw you for what you were!” Loki pointed at Thor and said “You're reckless and arrogant and  _dangerous_ , Thor, and that is the truth. Is that what Asgard needs from its King? You lead people into danger and never expect consequences that come from them, and if ever there  _are_  consequences, more often than not  _I_ am the one who deals with them and takes the fall. And you  _know_  it. How many times have I saved you from getting yourself killed? How many times have I been credited for it? How many times—” Loki stopped short, face turning into a blank mask. He turned away and made to leave again, hoping that Thor wouldn't say anything.

“How many times  _what_ , Loki?” Thor asked quietly, eyes narrowed slightly.

Loki stopped again, hand on the doorknob. He clenched his jaw before straightening and opening the door, walking out. Thor crossed the room and followed him, saying “Loki, what were you going to say? I don’t understand.”

He caught Loki’s wrist and Loki turned, grabbing him and throwing Thor to the ground. Thor sat up, eyes wide. “Loki—”

“Shut up,” Loki said, voice a deadly calm, and Thor shut his mouth. Loki looked down at him, eyes full of rage and Thor felt momentarily afraid as some invisible force held him down. “Did you know they call me the Dark Prince of Asgard? Odin’s shame? Did you know they call me a disgrace? And all because of  _what_?” Thor’s mouth hung open slightly. Loki crouched, balancing on his toes. “Because I'm not  _you_. Because I'm a  _seidr_  user.” Loki's lips curled into a deadly, humorless smile. “And you helped them  _mock_  me for it instead of defending me, for you were the only one they listened to.  _Countless_  times I was mocked and  _hurt_  for what I was, because I was  _different_.”

Loki stood and snapped his fingers. Thor found he could sit up again and did so, staring after Loki, so stunned he nearly missed the last words that came from Loki’s mouth.

“And I  _never_  forgot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hebravelyranaway: Thank you for your comment! It made sense that people would wonder what Frigga was thinking, and I as the writer already knew. Clearly readers wouldn't know, so I wrote a oneshot about it called Trust Me So. It's in my works. As usual, thank you to all who commented and left kudos.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: There is violence that I hadn't anticipated when I began revising this. I don't know what triggers people, but there's blood and someone dies. I've never really written a fight scene before, so I hope you'll bear with me. If I say any more, then it'll give the chapter away, but if you're really sensitive about that sort of thing and don't want to read, I'll summarize it in the end notes so you're not missing any key points.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

It was the second day of Loki's agreement with Laufey when the alarm was raised, and it was then that Loki remembered. He remembered the portal. The damn portal to Jotunheim that he had forgotten to close.

And so it was that Loki made the split-second decision and raced to Odin's room, hoping he was right. As he approached the room, the air grew colder and he knew he had made the right decision. He burst into the room in time to see Laufey, one of his sons, and another Jotun standing there. Frigga was unconscious-Norns he prayed she was only unconscious-on the floor and Laufey stood above Odin, a dagger of ice clutched in his hands.

"Stop!" Loki shouted, and realized he'd left Gungnir behind. Swearing internally, he grabbed a throwing knife from his belt and threw it, however Laufey had turned and had dodged it, instead attacking Loki instead.

For his age, Laufey was a swift fighter, much like Loki himself. Loki went into a defense stance and Laufey laughed mirthfully. "You dare challenge me, boy? You would die in an instant." He turned to his son and said "Stay out of this; he's  _mine_. Barricade the door."

Loki began circling Laufey and growled "We had an agreement, Laufey. Three days you gave me to consider, and last I looked, this is merely the second."

Laufey grinned, red eyes filled with loathing and glee. "I lied. It will be a pleasure killing you, son of Odin, right here in his chamber where he can listen but not help. No one can help you now."

"To first blood or death?" Loki asked.

"To the death, unless you are a coward," Laufey replied tauntingly.

"So be it," Loki said quietly. "Rules?"

Laufey laughed. "You Aesir and your rules. This is a battle; there is but one rule." He snarled and lifted his ice dagger. "Win!"

"As you say," Loki said, smirking and summoned flames to his hands. He threw the fire at Laufey, who defended with a shield of ice. Laufey smiled ruthlessly.

"You call yourself a master of magic? Surely you can do better than that!" The Jotun said and the room began to fill with ice. It began to move towards Loki and Loki moved back a few paces, looking around as he heard people on the other side of the door, trying to get in. It distracted him for a split second and a dagger shot past his face, clipping his cheek. Loki winced, but it was a mere scratch. Blood trickled down his cheek and Laufey looked delighted.

"Oh, come, Little King," he taunted. "Show me everything you've got!"

Loki took a deep breath and cast illusions of himself around the room, all of them looking exactly like himself. Laufey looked around before sighing and waving a hand. Ice spears went through all of the Lokis and Loki ducked and rolled out of the way, shooting a bolt of green light at Laufey. It hit him in the chest and he stumbled back, hissing. Loki smiled and pulled out a knife, the blade as long as his forearm. _  
_

"What even is that helmet?" Laufey said, creating a sword. "It looks like a nasthren."

Loki had no idea what a nasthren was, but clearly it was something ridiculous. Laufey attacked.

"Oh, come now," Loki said, blocking the attack. "You could have at least used an animal I know of. Like a goat, or a bull, or something. A nasthren? What in Helheim is a  _nasthren_?" He had thrown Laufey off of him and sent another bolt of magic at him. Laufey blocked with his sword, but it shattered. Laufey manipulated the shards and sent them at Loki and Loki brought up a shield of fire.

"Why don't you attack me?" Laufey snarled. "Too cowardly? I thought so. You're a  _weakling_ , never even considered for the throne. What are you even trying to do, make the Allfather _proud_ of you?" Laufey laughed. "You are  _nothing_."

Loki's temper flared. "I am not nothing!"

"You  _are_ ," Laufey said, grinning. "Nothing at all. You're a deceiver and a coward and a _traitor_ , not even worthy of magic, of your Realm. You're _pathetic_ , son of Odin."

Laufey attacked and Loki raised his dagger to defend himself, cutting and parrying against Laufey's ice sword until they were locked, hilt to hilt. Laufey suddenly stepped back, letting Loki stumbled forward before kicking him to the ground. Loki fell and Laufey laughed again and pressed his sword to Loki's neck, looking down at him.

"The Great King of Asgard," he mocked. "How old are you, nine centuries? You're barely a man. I might spare you yet. Do you yield, son of Odin?"

"Never!" Loki spat, staring hatefully up at him. Laufey crouched and straddled Loki's chest, leering down at him. The sword shrunk to a dagger, the tip still pressed painfully to Loki's neck, enough that he felt blood trickling down.

"Good. Though I must admit, you've more fight in you than I anticipated," he said, knocking off Loki's helm and tracing a finger over his cheek, the long, sharp nail scratching painfully, but not breaking the skin. "Why don't we see just how long it'll take you to break? The Allfather is asleep, and Frigga... Well, she won't be waking for a while, I think. Let's let Odin hear his youngest  _scream_."

A shiver of fear went down Loki's spine and Laufey pressed the pad of his finger to Loki's cheek and increased the amount of cold. Loki felt the Aesir glamour begin to fall and Laufey's brow furrowed slightly. "What...?" Loki smiled slowly, maliciously, as the glamour fell away completely. Laufey's eyes narrowed and Loki laughed softly, fingers finally finding the handle of his dagger. 

"Hello, Father," Loki said. Laufey's eyes widened in realization and Loki grabbed the knife, bringing it up and burying the blade in Laufey's back. The Jotun screamed and Loki twisted the blade ruthlessly. Laufey stopped screaming and Loki pulled the blade out before pushing Laufey off, getting to his feet. Laufey's eyes were open and he swallowed, his whole body trembling. One of the Jotnar stepped forwards a few steps, shouting "My King!" But the other held him back.

"This was a fight to the death," Laufey's son reminded. "We cannot interfere."

Loki heard and looked down at Laufey. Laufey looked up at him, loathing and pain in his eyes and...  _And fear,_ Loki thought. He crouched, dagger still in one hand. he pressed the other to Laufey's forehead and the Jotun closed his eyes with a sigh, unconscious, his whole body going limp. He bled more freely and Loki cringed.

"You have to finish it," Laufey's son said in a tone void of emotion. "He'll die soon enough anyway."

Loki nodded and took the dagger, lifting it above Laufey. His hands were trembling and he put the other hand around it, closing his eyes tightly. He clenched his jaw.  _You have to do it. Here, now. He wanted to start a war, he wanted to sacrifice thousands of lives, he deserves to die_. More thoughts ran through Loki's head like lightning and Loki screamed, throwing the dagger away.  _I can't do it,_ he thought bitterly.  _I can't do i. I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't-_

Frigga moaned softly and Loki's head snapped up. "Mother!" He ran to her side and helped her sit up. "Mother, are you hurt?"

"No," she said, wincing. "No, I-" She saw the blood trickling down Loki's cheek and on his clothes and she said "Loki! Loki, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, voice shaking a little. "I'm fine are you?"

"What- What happened?" She said, looking around. She saw the destruction around the room and the Jotnar standing there as if unsure of what to do. Her eyes widened and Loki looked up; he had nearly forgotten they were there. Laufey's son was kneeling by his father's body. When he stood up, his eyes met Loki's.

"He is dead."

Loki nodded and the other Jotun said hesitantly "...My Lord? Prince Helbindi?"

Helbindi's eyes lowered and he got to one knee in front of Loki. The other Jotun blinked, a look of confusion written on his features. "My Prince, what are you-?

"Bow, Thrym," Helbindi said, voice still empty. He looked back at Loki and continued "Hail the rightful King of Jotunheim."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who wanted the detailed description: Loki forgot that the portal to Jotunheim he used to get the Frost Giants in on the coronation was never closed, so Laufey decided that he, his son Helbindi, and a guard called Thrym would invade and try to kill Odin. Loki figures pout where Laufey's headed and goes to Odin's room to discover Frigga unconscious and Laufey standing above Odin's bed with a dagger. Loki and Laufey get into a fight to the death. Laufey eventually pins Loki down and tried to torture him by freezing a part of his skin, but instead Loki is revealed to be Laufey's son. Loki then gets his dagger back and stabs Laufey, but then can't finish him off, instead placing a sleeping spell over Laufey so he's not in pain when he dies. Frigga then wakes and Helbindi bows to Loki and tells Thrym to bow, saying that Loki's the rightful King of Jotunheim (dun dun duuuun).
> 
> That's about it. Thank you to all who commented! I'm glad some of you liked Trust Me So.
> 
> Also, I probably won't be able to update for a few days; I'm going to my grandmother's and the wifi's spotty there, but I should be able to get back to regularly scheduled updates on either Monday or Tuesday.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helbindi and Thrym explains why Loki is now King of Jotunheim and we hear more about Loki's birth family. (I have to admit, I personally enjoy writing Thrym.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

Loki stared at the Giants nonplussed. At the same time, the door was finally broken down and Sif and the Warriors Three, as well as a few Einherjar. They were all armed, but stopped dead when they everything.

"What's this?" Sif asked, indicated the scene before her.

"I would quite like to know the same," Loki said, blinking. He looked down at Helbindi and said "What do you mean, I'm the rightful King of Jotunheim? I don't-"

"You defeated King Laufey in battle to the death," Thrym said, now also bowing next to Helbindi. "It's an unusual method of passing the crown on, but by accepting your challenge and losing, he lost the Throne, and you have gained it. My Lord Helbindi is correct; you  _are_ the King of Jotunheim."

Loki blinked before glancing at Laufey's body. The others looked at it as well and Fandral said "You killed Laufey? You  _actually_ killed Laufey?"

"He was standing above the Allfather with a dagger, there were very few options," Loki snapped and sighed, beginning to pace. He felt sick and tired and finally said "Take them... Oh, I don't even know. Take them to the tower." He looked at the Jotnar and said "I'll speak with you later."

"Yes, my King." Several of the guards roughly grabbed the Giants and Loki snapped "And don't harm them; they're people not monsters, and I swear to Yggdrasil, if you  _do_ harm them, you answer to me."

"Yes, my King," the guards said, but looked confused by this. The Warriors Three and Sif stayed behind and Frigga placed her hands on Loki's shoulders. 

"Loki, are you alright?" She asked anxiously.

"Oh, yes," Loki said sarcastically. "I almost got myself killed and instead became the King of Jotunheim." He shrugged off her hand and continued "I don't even _want_ to be the King of Jotunheim! I don't even want to be the King of Asgard, and yet here I am. Oh, and not to mention the fact that I've just killed someone," he indicated Laufey's corpse and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Hogun, could you be in charge of making sure Laufey's body gets moved and preserved?"

"What do you wish to do with him?" The Vanir asked.

"Put him in a coffin," Loki sighed. "We'll send it back with Helbindi and the other one; Thrym, I think."

"You're sending them back?" Fandral asked, frowning.

"Eventually, yes," Loki said. He looked down and found he was still covered in Laufey's blood. "I'll speak with Helbindi and Thrym tonight. Until then, they are to be treated with respect, understand?"

"Why?" Volstagg asked. "Are they not Jotnar? Are they not savages?"

Loki turnes to fix Volstagg with a deadly glare. The large man shifted uncomfortably and Loki moved his gaze from him to the rest of them. "I am going to make this very clear," Loki said slowly. "The Jotnar are not savages. They are not monsters. They are simply a people with different customs and different appearances. In fact, I'm willing to bet that the only reason Helbindi Laufeyson came here today is because Laufey ordered him and Thrym to come. If they had refused, it would have been treason. If you are looking for someone to blame, blame Laufey. You cannot judge a whole race or land by their commander. I know that Helbindi and his brother Byleist tried to reason with Laufey against this war, tried to get him to accept my offer of a treaty. Helbindi has a sense of honor and did not interfere with the battle. Therefore you are to treat him and Thrym with a warrior's respect. do you understand?"

All four of them gaped at Loki like he had grown another head. Frigga was looking at him with pride and Loki turned to the room before waving a hand around to fix the damage in the room. Then, he walked towards the door and called "That, and both Thrym and Helbindi could snap the four of you like twigs of they so desired."

* * *

Loki walked up the stairs to the tower slowly. It wasn't like the dungeons, where they put more dangerous prisoners. It was more of a very large room that could be locked from the outside and not from the inside. Four guards were stationed outside the door and saluted as Loki approached.

"At ease," he said and they stood back from the door. Loki waved a hand at it to unlock it and then knocked.

There was silence for a few moments, then a deep voice said "Enter."

Loki opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him. It was evening now and Thrym looked bored out of his skull. Helbindi stood like a King by the window. He regarded Loki with a wary look and said "King Loki."

"Prince Helbindi," Loki replied. "Please, sit."

Helbindi's red eyes narrowed, then he obeyed, sitting next to Thrym. As Loki moved to sit across, he said "You are Jotun. Laufey's blood."

"I am," Loki replied simply. "I found out only a few days ago."

Helbindi nodded. "I remember. We thought you had been killed. Our dam, Farbauti, thought you had died. Ze was devastated."

Loki blinked. "I was told I had been abandoned."

"By whom?" Thrym asked, snorting. "Odin? Nah, you're a ygmi. Ygmis are rare, usually powerful. Good omens. Laufey would've been pleased. My child's a ygmi."

Loki's eyes turned to Thrym. The Jotun was clearly older than Helbindi, perhaps a commander of sorts. Thrym was relaxed, calm, still clearly bored, but in guard of Helbindi. Helbindi's eyes were still on Loki and he said "I was only a couple of centuries at the time, but from what I remember, you were born and it was Laufey-far's job to hide you and the casket, then try and get Odin's attention to lead him away. It didn't work; I remember Laufey-far telling Farbauti-mor. Farbauti-mor didn't have any other children until Byleist. Ze is still young, but Farbauti-mor died soon after ze was born. It set Laufey-far over the edge. Ze blames zim for Farbauti-mor's death, though I've done my best to convince zim otherwise."

"Laufey went mad _long_ ago, if you ask me," Theym put in. "Ze was bent upon ruling Midgard, and went even more insane after you vanished," he nodded at Loki. "Little Vendrung. Ze looked for days, trying to find your body. So my sire told me."

"Why do you keep using 'ze?'" Loki asked curiously. Helbindi and Thrym went silent, then Theym roared with laughter.

"You don't even know that? _Ymir_ , the Aesir are clueless," Thrym laughed, even Helbindi cracked a smile.

"Jotnar are neither male nor female," the Jotun Prince explained. "Unless otherwise stated, everyone's pronouns are 'ze,' 'zim,' and 'zir.' But there are some who prefer to be just male or just female."

"I assume that's also why you use mor and far instead of mother and father?" Loki guessed. Helbindi nodded, then tipped zir head to one side slightly. 

"Could I... see?" Ze asked, indicating zir own face. "Please?"

Loki tensed and clenched his jaw slightly, then relaxed and nodded once. He let the Aesir glamour fall and Thrym smiled a bit.

"Yep," ze said, nodding. "You're _definitely_ Laufey's blood."

"I don't know," Helbindi said thoughtfully. "There's a fair amount of Farbauti-mor there as well."

"More than a fair amount," Thrym snorted. "Ze's more Farbauti than Laufey." Ze grinned at Loki and said "You'd've liked Farbauti, I think. Ze had this huge library and was more than proficient with magic. Ze taught Laufey, and even wrote a few books on the matter zimself, before the war for Midgard."

"I prefer 'him' and 'he,'" Loki said and pulled the Aesir glamour back up. "Besides, this is not what I came here to discuss. I came to discuss a matter of more importance..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive response on the last chapter! I was really uncertain because, again, I've never really written a fight scene before. Thanks!
> 
> Oh, and there's also the matter of the ze/zim/zir pronouns; they are actual pronouns that people have made up. I didn't just want to use "he/him/his" for everything, so I hope it's appropriate. I had Loki's POV change pronouns for the Jotnar when he gets told. It is a headcanon that Jotnar are hemaphrodites (have both reproductive organs), and Loki does as well, but he's never given it much thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Helbindi play a game of chess and Loki gets hit in the head with a ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

"And we  _will_ have access to the Bifrost?"

"Only when strictly necessary."

"But not the Casket?"

"But not the Casket."

"We'd rather have the Casket and no Bifrost use."

"Very well."

It was technically supposed to be Loki and Helbindi making up the new treaty between Jotunheim and Asgard, however Helbindi had only just been crowned King by Loki, and Loki was still trying to get the hang of kingship anyway. So, instead, it was Frigga and Thrym sitting across from one another. Helbindi and Loki were instead having a staring contest until Frigga nudged Loki's foot with her own. Loki looked at her to glare, and when he looked back, Helbindi had a triumphant grin on zir face. Loki made a quick face at zim before turning to glance over what they'd agreed upon. He frowned and said "Why are we not giving them Bifrost access?"

"Because Laufey had zir supporters," Thrym replied. "Those who would still try to take over Midgard. The Casket is much more use to us. Besides, it is very rare that Jotnar get a lust to wander."

"Then Jotunheim could use ours when it needed to," Loki replied, looking at Helbindi. "Asgard doesn't use the Bifrost very often."

"True," Helbindi mused. Ze spotted the chessboard and said "Can you play?"

Loki looked over and summoned it, setting the pieces up, making Helbindi white and himself black. "White moves first."

Helbindi grinned and moved a pawn forwards two. Loki moved his own piece and said "Then we are agreed that Jotunheim may use Asgard's Bifrost when needed?"

"Yes," Helbindi said, moving. "And we will get the Casket?"

"Mm." Loki moved. "Well, Asgard certainly has no use for it. I was planning on bringing it to Jotunheim tomorrow."

"Fool," Helbindi said, moving. "Laufey-far would have betrayed you."

"I'd have given him-sorry, _zim_ -a fake," Loki said, peering at the board, frowning slightly. "Then I'd have replaced it with the true Casket when the Treaty was formed."

"Ah," Helbindi grinned. "Ze would have seen through that; ze expected you to double-cross zim."

Loki moved a piece and said "Jotnar will be allowed to enter Asgard, should they wish to trade with us at the marketplace. Three guards will be placed around them," he looked up at Helbindi and said "Do you think there was ever a time when Asgard and Jotunheim had their peace between one another?"

"Not in  _my_ memory," Helbindi replied, snorting. "But perhaps that can change?" Ze moved and Loki nodded, changing his plan and moving a piece.

"I certainly hope so. Perhaps an alliance could be formed between us?" Loki asked, watching as Helbindi frowned at the board.

"An alliance... What would that entail?" Ze asked.

"Like the alliance Asgard currently has with Vanaheim," Loki said, shrugging. "Are you going to move?"

"Give me a moment!" Helbindi snapped, then huffed at the board. "You're good at this."

"Thank you," Loki replied with a grin. Helbindi moved and said "Another thing you'd have liked about Farbauti-mor; ze was very good a this game. I'd yet to beat zim when Byleist was born."

"I always lose against the Allfather," Loki said, frowning at the board. "Anyway, the alliance would be simple; Jotunheim could send a few Jotnar here, and Asgard would send a few Aesir to Jotunheim. If something happened if Jotunheim, one of the Aesir would come and ask for aid, likewise with Asgard. I'm sure there's plenty of things we could learn from each other."

"I'm sure," Helbindi said as Loki moved. "There are certain moves you use with seidr that are similar to Jotnarish techniques. And the ygmi have techniques of their own. Thrym's child, Agnoda, is a special case, and ze's made up zir own way of handling seidr."

"How old is ze?" Loki asked curiously.

"About your age, more or less," Thrym put in. Ze and Frigga had been watching the exchange in interest. "You'd like zim, I think."

"I hope to visit Jotunheim one day," Loki said. "It would be nice to get away from Asgard for a while when the Allfather wakes. It's nice, I suppose, knowing people will do what I want, when I want, simply because I'm King, but truly, it doesn't suit me."

"What _does_ suit you?" Helbindi asked as ze moved.

"A warm room with a book and a cup of tea, with all the time in the world," Loki replied, smiling a bit. "Perhaps with adventure occasionally knocking at my door to disturbed me."

"Well, Jotunheim would welcome you, _lite sosken_ ," Helbindi said, smiling. Loki rolled his eyes, but smiled at the same time.

"Back to our treaty," he said, "will you agree to an alliance?"

"Yes, yes," ze said, waving a hand away. Ze then smiled a bit and said "Farbauti-mor would have been happy; ze longed for a day when Laufey would finally come to zir senses and try to create one with Odin, but ze was stubborn and wouldn't be the one to give first." Ze moved and said "Shall we look over what Thrym and Quen Frigga have written and see if we agree with any of it, _sosken_?"

It took a half of an hour to go through the new treaty one last time and finish their chess game. Loki won, but Helbindi insisted that Loki had somehow cheated and moved a piece while ze wasn't looking. Loki denied it fervently. They signed the treaty and a copy was made for the Jotnar to take. Then, they got up, Frigga leaving them. Loki escorted the two out of Odin's study and through the palace, then through the city towards the Bifrost, guards escorting and carrying the coffin with Laufey's body.

"I meant it, though," Helbindi said as they stood in Heimdall's Observatory. "Jotunheim would welcome you, should you ever wish to visit. Laufey may have had zir followers, however they were few. Ze was highly regarded as an incompetent King, regularly ignoring the needs of zir people."

Loki bowed his head and said "Thank you. I think I shall take you upon that offer one day."

Helbindi also bowed zir head and said "Whatever happens, you have earned my respect, King Loki of Asgard."

"Likewise, King Helbindi of Jotunheim," Loki replied. "I wish you luck on the Throne."

And then Helbindi and Thrym were gone, leaving Loki and the guards alone in the Observatory. Loki sighed and said to the guards "Dismissed. Please return to your stations."

The guards left and Heimdall remained, awaiting Loki's command. Finally, Loki sighed and said "Heimdall, send me to Midgard's China."

* * *

The rest of Loki's reign as King was peaceful. The threat from Jotunheim was now eliminated, but people still wondered when Thor was coming back. No one knew of Loki's trick at the coronation yet, and that was the way he wanted it. He focused on the people of Asgard now, helping farmers with their harvests and slowly but surely winning the peoples' favor. He wryly wondered how quickly that favor would end if anyone ever found out about his true heritage.

But one evening, Loki needed to escape the palace. He hadn't gone out for some time, and though the palace library was huge, there were others scattered around the city. So, he dressed in simple clothes and a cloak before telling Frigga he would be leaving for several hours. She worried as she always did when he went out, but they both knew he could defend himself if he had to.

And so he went out. The streets were shadowy and the marketplace was closing, people packing up their wares to go home for the evening. Children were playing a game with balls and laughing before parents called them in. Loki smiled and turned away, about to make down the street when he sensed something coming at him. He turned, but too late; the ball smacked into his head.

Loki blinked as his hood slipped down and looked at the ball, now at his feet. The children had run up to him, but upon seeing who it was, slunk back, suddenly afraid. Loki reached down and picked up the ball before smiling at them. "You'd best be more careful where you aim." He tossed the ball up and caught it again before walking over and crouching, holding it out to one of them. They flinched back slightly and Loki frowned. "Oh, come; I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're... You're not... angry?" One of them asked meekly. Loki raised his eyebrows.

"Why would I be? Accidents happen," he said, still holding the ball out. "Besides, it didn't hurt me."

The child hesitantly took the ball from him and tucked it under his arm. "Can you do magic? Mamma says you can do magic."

"I can," he said. He then smiled slightly and made a simple three-legged stool appear. He sat down and they all grinned, saying "Whoa!"

Loki smiled again and pressed his hands together before cupping them to reveal blue-winged butterflies. They flew off and the children giggled. They all sat down, the ball and their fear forgotten, and one of then said "Do you know any stories, your Majesty?"

"I know a few," Loki said, crossing his legs. "Have you ever heard  _The Master Maid_?"

The children shook their heads, eyes wide. Loki wasn't surprised; it was a Midgardian story he had heard long ago, but it would do. He rubbed his hands together and said "Once, there was a King who had two sons—"

“Is it you and Prince Thor?” One of the children blurted out, then got shushed by the others.

"No, it's not us," Loki said, laughing a little. "No, the Princes names were Trygive and Aage. Now, Trygive was the honest, obedient son. He was also the elder of the two. Then there was Aage. Now Aage disliked rules; he tricked people and was the younger son. It was soon said that he was unfit to be a King, and so Trygive was crowned. Deciding he wanted nothing to do with the throne, Aage decided to go and seek his fortune, and that, dear children, is where our tale begins..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was this whole scene that I wanted to do where he makes Helbindi the King of Jotunheim in front of a court, but I couldn't figure out how to fit it in, so maybe I'll write a short little something about how it happened later on.
> 
> Sosken technically means "sibling" in Norwegian. That wasn't very creative of me, but since Jotnar don't typically have a sense of gender, I figured there's be no brothers or sisters. When Helbindi calls Loki "lite sosken," ze's saying "little sibling."
> 
> If you would like to know more about gender binaries, I suggest looking at the wikipedia page. There are a few more pronouns that people use, another favorite of mine being "xe/xym/xyr," however the "ze/zim/zir" somehow seemed more Jotnar to me.
> 
> Also, "The Master Maid" is an actually Norwegian fairy tale that I found a while ago. It involves a giant, but Loki's probably going to say it's a troll instead.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trickster!Loki is the best Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

When Loki finished the tale, the children demanded another. He ended up telling five more until he realized that more children, and even adults had come to listen. It was well past dark by now and he assumed the adults were parents come to fetch their children. With an apologetic smile, Loki stood and the stood vanished.

“Another!” One of the children said, looking excited. Loki looked at them and said “Perhaps another day, child. For now, it’s time you all went home.” There were sounds of disappointment and the children slowly stood before trudging off. Loki watched them before realizing the ball had been left behind. Frowning, he picked it up and walked towards the house the owner had gone into. He left it on the doorstep and then made his way back to the palace, but before he got far, the door opened and a woman called “Hello?”

Loki turned and said “Hello, Ma’am.”

She picked up the ball and said “Did you put this here?”

“Yes, I did,” Loki said, raising his eyebrows. She frowned and said “Come forwards, let me see your face.”

Loki did so and she gasped when she saw who it was. “My King! I did not mean—I’m sorry, I—Would you like to join us for dinner?”

Loki raised his eyebrows I'm a bemused way and said “I think I would. Thank you.”

She stepped aside and Loki walked in, looking around as he took his cloak off. He noticed the shoes by the door and quickly took his off. The boy was seated at the table, legs swinging back and forth. He looked at Loki and said "Didja bring me my ball?"

"I did," Loki replied, straightening. The boy’s mother put it down on the stairs and said “Please, sit. I’ll get you a plate.”

Loki sat down next to the boy and said “What’s your name?”

“Nari,” the boy replied, mouth full. “Everyone calls me Ari.”

“I’m Loki,” Loki said.

“I know,” the boy said and continued to stare at him, even as his mother set a bowl of soup in front of Loki.

“I’m afraid it isn’t much, but...” She looked embarrassed and Loki tried some.

“It’s delicious,” he declared and Ari said “Yeah, I know. Mamma’s the best cook around.”

Loki laughed and said “I can believe it.” He looked at her and said “What is your name? It was rude of me not to ask before.”

“Oh, not at all!” She reassured him quickly. “It’s Sigyn. Sigyn Amundottir.”

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam Sigyn,” Loki said. “Your soup is excellent.”

“Thank you, your Majesty,” she said, blushing. She then looked at Ari and said “Nari, stop staring at our guest.”

“Why?” The boy asked.

“You’ll annoy him,” she said, looking exasperated. Loki looked at the boy and stared back until Ari said “Your eyes are green. I’ve never seen green eyes before.”

“And yours are blue,” Loki replied. “My brother has blue eyes as well.” He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side slightly, saying “Almost the same shade. His are a little darker than yours, depending on his mood.”

“His eyes change color?” Ari asked, looking interested.

“Oh, yes,” Loki said, nodding as he had more soup. “When he’s happy, they’re a lighter blue. When he’s angry, they’re a dark gray-blue. It is not so obvious.”

“Do yours change color?” Ari asked.

“Sometimes,” Loki said, with a grin. "They turn red. But only when I want them to."

Ari thought for a minute. “Do mine?”

“I don’t know,” Loki said, shrugging. “It’s possible.”

Sigyn smiled and said “Where is Prince Thor?”

Loki looked at his soup and took another spoonful before saying “He’s on Midgard.”

“I had heard he was banished,” she replied and he could feel the almost question in the words. He considered for a moment before replying slowly “He was.”

“When’s he going to come back?” Ari asked, slurping more soup.

“When he becomes worthy of the throne,” Loki replied.

“Why was he banished?” Ari asked.

“He led me and a few of our friends into danger, nearly getting us killed and starting a war,” Loki replied. “But there will be no war now. I’ve fixed it.”

“You have fixed a lot of problems,” Sigyn remarked. “You have done a lot of good in a short period of time. People have noticed and are grateful.”

“To me?” Loki asked, surprised. Sigyn nodded her confirmation and Loki remained silent.

Sigyn watched him and said “If I may, your Majesty, you aren’t quite what I expected.”

“Oh?” Loki smirked and continued “And what were you expecting?”

“Everyone says you trick people!” Ari supplied helpfully and Sigyn’s face turned bright red, but before she could scold him, Loki’s smirk widened.

“Oh, I do plenty of that in my spare time,” he said before chuckling a little. “Why do you think I deemed it best to leave the palace for the night?”

As if on cue, there was a high-pitched whistling. Loki sprang up and ran to the door, wrenching it open and cackling as there was a rather loud boom and a flash of purple and green light. Ari got up and ran over before laughing. Lights were springing up from behind the palace and bursting in the sky, making wonderful figures. Loki and Ari looked delighted and Sigyn said “What on Yggdrasil...?”

“Fireworks!” Loki explained gleefully. “A Midgardian invention from a land called China! I’ve merely touched them up a bit.” He smiled at them and said “I set them to go off when the Allfather woke. I sensed a change in his aura before I left and decided it was best.” Loki pulled his shoes on and grabbed his cloak before saying “I fear I must leave you. Thank you for the soup; it was very good.”

Another explosion lit up the sky and Loki smiled as Ari said “Whoa...”

“Where are you going?” Sigyn asked.

Loki smiled as he pulled the hood of his cloak up. “I am no longer a King,” he said. “And, I must admit, I am relieved. I never wanted to be King in the first place. I much prefer to control things in the background. But I gave Thor my word that I would tell him when our father woke.”

He made a flower appear and he said “Good evening, Daughter of Amun. Good evening, Nari.” He handed the flower to Sigyn and turned, still laughing to himself as people came out of their houses to look at the fireworks. He slipped into the shadows and made his way to the Bifrost.

"I must admit," Heimdall said when he got there, "I half wondered what you wanted with the fireworks the other week. This was one of your better tricks, your highness."

Loki only smiled a bit and turned to watch the display with Heimdall for a few more moments, calmer than he had been in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know that Sigyn and Nari are Loki's wife and kid in mythology, but I needed two characters and Nari was fun to write. Also, I got a couple of questions for my fellow writers:
> 
> First of all, if you are a writer (doesn't matter if you write fan fiction, original fiction, or both), how often do you use writing prompts? Also, why do you use writing prompts? For those who write both original and fan fiction, do you find that prompts for original or fan fiction are more effective? Why do you think that is?
> 
> If you can answer, I would appreciate it if you commented with them; I'm doing an essay on writing prompts and I'd really appreciate the feedback.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gives some advice to Loki about identity issues and they talk about tasers and feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

Loki stood in front of Jane Foster's house and knocked on the door. The entire place seemed to be made of glass, so he could see at least  _someone_  was in there. It was the dark-haired girl, Darcy. She opened the door, grinning, and said “Hey there, Dark and Moody! Looking for Thor?”

“I am,” Loki said curtly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Nah," she said, shrugging. "I was just reading a Destiel fanfic." She then turned and shouted “Hey, Big 'n Blond! Your brother's here!”

There was no reply and Darcy said “I don't know where he is. Wanna come in and wait for him? I think there’ still some coffee in the pot….”

_Coffee?_  Loki frowned and said “I admit I am unfamiliar with... coffee.”

“You've never had coffee before?” Darcy said, eyes wide, then she considered. “Oh, yeah. That makes sense, actually. Thor's reaction to coffee was—” She stopped and said in a deep voice “'I like this drink. ANOTHER!' then smashed the mug on the floor. He gave one back to the owner though, to replace the one he'd broken.”

Loki raised his eyebrows and said “Well, that certainly sounds like Thor. But you said he replaced it?  _That_  is a surprise.”

Darcy tilted his head and said “Was he really that bad?”

Loki looked at her and said “ _Yes_. There is a reason he was banished from Asgard, Miss Lewis. Though, perhaps he  _has_  changed...”

“I think he has,” Darcy said. There was a long moan from the other room and Darcy paused before saying “Oh yeah. That's where they went.”

Loki turned a light shade of pink, and only flushed darker when Darcy shouted “Jane, I hope you're using protection in there, because from what I found on the internet, he's the god of  _fertility_.”

“ _Darcy_!” Came the mortified gasp from inside and Darcy cackled before walking into the kitchen. Loki sat down at the table and a few minutes later, a cup of steaming dark brown liquid was placed in front of him.

“I like sugar in mine,” Darcy said, putting in two tablespoons. “A lot of sugar. Jane likes her coffee with a lot of milk, but no sugar. Thor liked it plain, but likes milk in it. Erik likes it black with, like, a  _pinch_  of sugar. Anyway, take it how you like it; we can always make more.”

Loki picked up the cup and sniffed it. It smelled delicious, like nothing he’d ever smelled before. Darcy breathed in her own cup and said “It's heaven in a cup.”

“Heaven?” Loki frowned. Darcy frowned and said “Umm….” She picked up a book and flipped through it before saying “Right, it's like the human's version of... Valhalla? Is that how you say it? Anyway, it’s like the eternal reward place for the good people. It's a religion thing. Bad people go to Hell.”

“Helheim?” Loki frowned.

“No, just Hell,” Darcy. “But with two Ls on the end.”

Loki frowned and took a sip of the coffee. It was bitter and he glared at it. “Is it supposed to be bitter?”

“Well,  _good_  coffee shouldn't be too bitter, but then again, I think Jane made this,” Darcy said, making a face at the offending drink. She snatched his cup back and dumped the coffee down the drain before sighing. “She can build a machine that can sense your Bi-thingy, but she can't make a decent cup'o coffee to save her life.”

She sat back down and said “It'll be ready in a sec.” She swung her legs up onto the table and crossed her feet, saying “So how's life?”

He frowned and said “What?”

“How's life?” She repeated. “How're things? What’s shakin' bacon? How are things in Glocca Morra?”

Loki considered asking if she was quite alright when she said “Alright, alright, lemme try it this way.” She cleared her throat and said “How art thou on this dreary midsumm'r aft'rnoon, mineth good sir? Is thy life satisfactory?”

Loki's lips twitched and he said “People on Asgard don't actually speak like that.”

“Thor did,” Darcy said. She smirked and said “You should’ve seen him. The minute he got here, Jane hit him with her truck, then I tasered him. Then we took him to the hospital. Then Jane hit him again.”

“Tasered?” Loki frowned.

“You haven't answered my question,” she said. She put her elbows on the table and leaned against her hands, smiling. “How's life, hot stuff?”

“Fine,” Loki replied briefly.

“Coolly-O,” she said and let her head drop back so she leaned back in the chair. Loki smirked and said “You'll fall over.”

“So Jane tells me, but I've only seen it happen once. Corey Matthews in eighth grade fell backwards and hit his head on the desk behind him.” She grinned fondly and said “Ah, memories. That was the highlight of eighth grade.”

Loki rolled his eyes and said “Now, what does 'tasered' mean?”

“Nuh-uh,” she said. “You didn't answer.”

“Yes, I did,” he said.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Darcy said, taking her legs off the table and getting up to pour more coffee. “The scale goes great, good, okay, not okay, I hate you, fine. So, what's up?”

Before Loki could answer, more noises came from the other room. Darcy rolled her eyes and said “Hold on a sec.”

She went to the door and shouted “Jane, did SHIELD take the stereo?”

There wasn't any response, so Darcy rolled her eyes and looked around before saying “Aw, neat! They left the stereo!” She brought it back along with a box and said “Pick one.”

Loki blinked at her and she shook the box. “Come on! Pick one!”

He reached in and pulled out a thin, square box. She snatched it out of his hand and looked at it saying “Oh! I like this album.” She opened it and pulled out a black and silver disk, sticking it into the radio. She turned it on, pressed shuffle, and music came out. She turned up the volume and said “Come on, let's go to the roof. It's quieter and we won’t be able to hear them.”

Darcy picked up her mug and walked away. Loki blinked at her back before picking up his mug and following her up to the roof. There were chairs there and she was already sitting when he reached her.

“I heard you're adopted,” she said, sipping. Loki stiffened and clenched his jaw. She put her mug down and said “Hey, that's alright. I am too, but I didn't know it until I was, like, sixteen. Once I found out, though, I had no idea what to think. Like, I knew what adoption was, but I'd never considered that  _I_  could be adopted, even though both my parents have blue eyes and I have brown eyes, so it's genetically impossible. I think.” She thought and said “I dunno. I didn't pay attention in Biology a whole lot. But that’s not the point.”

Loki blinked at her and she blew some hair out of her face, then shoved it behind her ear impatiently. “Once I found out, I kinda went a little... nuts.” She picked up her coffee again. “I started smoking and staying out late, not telling them where I was going and sneaking out 'n shit. Had a _little_ bit of an identity crisis and kept trying to figure out where I belonged, and whether or not my parents _actually_ loved me and all that, even though they told me over and over again that they did.”

She sat back and took a long sip from her coffee. Loki shifted uncomfortably and said “What did you do?”

She shrugged. “I went downstairs one morning after drinking a lot—I had a wicked hangover, so don't ever try to drink away your worries, it only creates headaches—and they were both sitting there. Mom was making choco-chip pancakes and Dad was making coffee and he put a cup in front of me. We didn't talk much, but they more or less accepted what I was doing. They spoke really quietly to me, too, so it wouldn't make my head explode. Dad said that maybe we should talk about what was going on. I kinda agreed, so we sat down and talked. They apologized for not telling me sooner, and asked me to stop hurting myself for it. And let's face it, it's not like I was getting anywhere with it anyway.” She smiled and said “After that, things mostly went back to normal. That was a year after I found out, so I was ready for things to be normal again. Anyway, I signed up for Jane's internship and got it, mostly because no one else wanted it, but ha ha, fuck them; this is literally the  _best_ internship I've ever had."

“But didn't you mistrust them?” Loki asked. "Your parents, I mean."

“Yeah,” she said, nodding. “Being sixteen  _sucked_. I eventually got over it, though. I've got a good relationship with them.”

Loki sipped his coffee and remained quiet as he contemplated. Darcy watched him for a minute before saying “I dunno how much this'll help, but I know that Thor really loves you. He was kinda depressed after you left last time and kept on blaming himself. I mean, he was depressed before cuz of myeh-myeh, but he seriously thought you'd left for good when you left last time.”

Loki sighed and murmured “So had I.”

“Yet here you are!” Darcy said, grinning.

He glared at her and said “I merely came to tell Thor that our father has woken. I am no longer King. He is, once again, first in line.”

Darcy looked at him for a minute before saying “You're never going to be like Thor.”

Loki's eyes snapped up to her and he snarled “What do you—”

“Shush,” she said. “I don't mean it like that. You're never going to be like Thor, because you’re  _not Thor_. Only  _Thor_  is Thor, and honestly, I don’t think anyone  _needs_  another Thor, or could even handle one. Could you imagine having two Thors running around?”

He almost shuddered at the thought. “No.”

“Exactly!” She said, smiling and gently pushing his arm. “See, you're getting it now. So, what  _are_  you like?”

“Well I—”

“ _Bzzt_! Time's up,” she said. “You're like Loki. And  _why_  is that?”

“Because—”

“ _Bzzzt_! Trick question! It’s because you're Loki.” Darcy grinned at his incredulous look and said “Look, it's up to you whether you want to forgive them or not, and it's okay to not want to forgive them yet, I mean they  _lied_  to you. Well, Thor didn't, but your parents did.”

Loki looked up at her and said “They've always liked Thor better.”

“So I heard,” she said, putting down her mug. She sat down next to him and hugged him around the middle, saying “C'mere.”

“What are you doing?” Loki said after a minute. She still hadn't let go.

“You need a hug,” she said, smiling contently. “Or, more,  _I_  needed a hug, and you were the unfortunate person to be sitting closest to me.”

“Hmm.” Loki didn't reply, but sat awkwardly. When she pulled away, she said “Fuck everyone.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at her, grinning slyly at the innuendo. She shook her head and said “No, wait, don't fuck everyone, that's not what I meant. I mean that they can all go fuck themselves. So what if they like Thor better? That's not your fault, but it's not really  _his_  fault either. Look,” she sat back across from him and said “From what I've read on the internet, the people on Asgard are all warriors, right?” Loki nodded to confirm. “Great. So, when someone isn't a warrior, they get laughed at, right? Or are considered weak?” Loki nodded again. “But you found strength through magic, right?”

“Yes...” Loki said.

“That doesn't make you any less weak,” she said. “It's  _different_ , sure, but no less weak. You play to your advantages. And I'm gonna guess you lie and play pranks to get attention to remind people you're still there, huh?"

“Of course not that's—” He stopped mid-sentence and said softly “Oh.”

“Exactly,” she said, nodding. “Cuz even negative attention is better than no attention at all.”

Loki swallowed and looked at his coffee, quiet for a few minutes. "I used to tell the truth," he said at last. "A long, long time ago. But it was thing people didn't want to believe. Scandals and secrets, and so when I said them people called me a liar. My mother eventually had to tell me that some thing weren't supposed to be said aloud." He sighed a little. "I learned long ago that people prefer a beautiful lie to a terrible truth. As for the tricks, perhaps you are right. I'd never thought about it that way before."

“Well, now you know,” she said. She then stood and said “So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, how do you feel?”

“I'm not going to talk about my  _feelings_ ,” Loki said indignantly. She just smiled at him sweetly as she went downstairs. Once she brought the coffee back, she said “Okay, so if I tell you how I tasered Thor and what a taser is, can we talk about our feelings?”

Loki sighed and said “I suppose.”

“Great!” She pulled out a little black box and said “This is my taser. It shoots electricity at people and it's a defense weapon. It's also illegal in most places in America, I think. Anyway, after Jane hit him with her van the first time, he started shouting at the sky to Heineken, or whatever the hell his name is, and to his father, and also just said 'hammer' over and over again. He asked if he was on Vana-whosit or Elf-dingy and he wasn't making much sense, and he was kinda freaking me out, so I pointed this at him and he asked if I dare threaten him, and a second later, I pulled the trigger and he fell to the power of the taser. We took him to the hospital after that.” She grinned to herself, looking up, and said “Yeah, that was pretty awesome.”

Loki stared at her and said “That is it?”

“Yup,” she said, pouring him another cup of coffee. “Now, how are you? And you can totally go ahead and rant, I mean everyone needs someone to rant to every once in a while.”

Loki looked at her for a few moments before finally relenting. “It's more of a story. And a long one at that.”

“Well, last time I was downstairs, Thor and Jane were still going at it, so we've got time,” Darcy said, shrugging.

Loki nodded and said “Are you sure you wish to know? Once I tell you, there is no un-telling.”

“I'm sure,” she said encouragingly. “ Go ahead.”

Loki nodded and looked down at his coffee before saying “It started about a month ago now, right after Father announced that Thor was to be his heir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you so very, very, much to hebravelyranaway and Shadow_Of_Shemai for answering my questions! It was a HUGE help, and I really appreciate it. :)
> 
> Second of all, Darcy's always seemed kinda observant to me, and quite perceptive. I wonder if you guys caught the subtle Broadway reference. And yes; it's my headcanon that Darcy watches Supernatural and reads Destiel fanfiction. She also has a tumblr, the url being "politicalangels." She'd also try to make Loki a tumblr as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks to Loki telling Odin his concerns about Thor becoming King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

Loki chewed on his bottom lip nervously, hand raised to knock on his father's study door, unsure of whether this was a good idea.  _Will he even listen to me?_

He shook his head, trying to clear it of the negative thoughts; this had to be done. He straightened and knocked on the door three times before composing his face and posture before Odin called “Enter.”

Loki opened the door and slipped inside. The Allfather was busy with some papers, and he only glanced up before acknowledging his presence. “Loki.”

“Father, may I have a word?” Loki asked, not quite closing the door. “It's of great importance.”

Odin sighed and said “Very well. Close the door.”

Loki quietly did as he was told and stepped forwards to stand before the desk. He waited a moment until his father had put down his pen and looked up at him. “Now, what is this important business, Loki?”

Loki looked at his father with a demeanor of calm as he said “I do not think it wise to make Thor King yet.”

Odin narrowed his eye and said slowly “And what is your reasoning behind this?”

“Thor is impulsive,” Loki said carefully. “And violent at times. He has practically no control over his temper whatsoever and when he loses it, he refuses to be reasoned with. It only serves to make him more violent than he usually is.”

The Allfather leaned back in his chair, eye still narrowed at Loki. “And what would you have me do?”

“Wait,” Loki replied. “He will, with time, make a worthy King of Asgard, but he knows not the responsibility, the  _weight_ of ruling a Realm. I fear….” Loki paused, then continued. “I fear he would not put Asgard first, would not think of the Realm’s needs.”

“And you think you would serve as a better ruler?” Odin said.

“I have no desire to rule,” Loki dismissed, knowing that the question would come. “My concern is for Asgard.”

Odin nodded and said “Thor thinks he is ready.”

“Thor is not always correct,” Loki pointed out.

“And you are?” Odin raised his eyebrows and Loki bit back the response  _Yes, I am, but no one ever listens to me_.

“No one is,” Loki replied simply. “But the fact remains that Thor can be violent, dangerously so.”  _And you know I am right_.

“And who would you have me put in charge instead?” Odin asked. “You are second in line, yet you say you are uninterested in the throne.”

“Anyone,” Loki replied. “There are those willing to be King. Balder, for example.”

“Balder?” Odin scoffed. “Balder is too young, too  _naïve_. The only options are either you or Thor, yet you say Thor is unfit to be King.”

“I am not saying do not  _ever_  make Thor King,” Loki said. “I merely think it would be best to wait, even if it is no more than a century. Thor will one day make a fine King, but believe me when I say that time is not  _today_.”

Odin's face hardened and he said “I did not think you would stoop this low for power, my son.”

Loki’s eyes widened and he said “What?”

“Do not lie to me,” Odin growled. “You have always been envious of Thor, but that is enough.”

“Father, this is the truth—” Loki tried, but Odin stood and said “I said  _enough_ , Loki. Now go; I have business to attend to.”

“If you would only  _listen_ —”

“Do not try my patience, child,” Odin warned. “This discussion is  _over_. Thor's coronation will be in three months.”

Loki clenched his jaw, anger flaring for a moment as he said through gritted teeth “Fine. But believe me when I say that you are making a  _mistake_.”

Before Odin could reply, Loki turned on his heel and left, slipping out of the chamber and closing the door before making his way down the hall, glaring in front of him and clenching his jaw and fists. Those who passed him wisely kept out of his way.

He made his way to his bedroom. It was the only place where he knew he wouldn't be disturbed; only Thor ever dared barge in, and he was currently sparring in the training yard. Loki collapsed into the window seat and glared at the city below before looking away and sighing, rubbing his eyes and leaning back against the wall.  _Why does no one ever believe me? Thor is going to ruin this Realm in a week._  He knew he was to be Thor's adviser, but what good would  _that_  do if Thor never actually listened to him? He was better at politics, talking, law, history, math, language, culture, and just about everything else that involved thinking and being  _reasonable_  than Thor was. He always calculated his move, thought of backup plans...

 _I need to stop Thor from becoming King._  That was obvious.  _Someone_  had to, and he appeared to be the only one who saw Thor as a danger to others.  _I also have to prove that he isn't ready to be King_. Again, that was obvious. He sighed and licked his lips. What was he going to  _do_?

 _Get Thor angry._  Oh. Loki opened his eyes and sat up, crossing his legs into a lotus position and leaning his elbows on his knees.  _What does Thor hate?_ Well,  _that_  wasn't a very long list. He hated Frost Giants and anyone who displeased him, but Thor was also excellent at forgiving people who displeased him. It was the reason Loki had gotten away with more than his parents knew when he was a child.  _Then what does Thor love?_ Battle. Food. Mjolnir. Loki rolled his eyes; the hammer had become his favorite weapon when Odin had given it to him sat his coming of age ceremony.

He had to get Thor angry. What would make him angry enough?  _Frost giants..._  Loki closed his eyes.  _There's the passage between Jotunheim and Asgard that leads to the Vault_. Loki had found it a few centuries ago, but had never let anyone know about it. After all, the Destroyer was there, and he knew it could easily protect the Vault. And Heimdall...  _I need a way to shroud myself from him. Surely Mother would have a spell for that._

Loki slowly grinned. If the Frost Giants ended up in the Vault, Thor would surely wish to find out why they were there. Odin would have enough reason to simply close off the entrance and be done, but  _Thor_? Well, he would have to see. He bit his lip. If he was caught, this could be considered treason. Odin would consider it another desperate bid for power.  _I don't want the throne!_

He got up and began to pace. First, he would have to somehow contact the King of Jotunheim. Could he send illusional messages through the portal? He'd have to try. Loki left his room and made for Frigga's study to ask for a shrouding spell.

* * *

Everything was ready. Laufey had replied happily when he'd proposed his offer.  _Soon_. Hopefully the King of Jotunheim would actually do as he had said he would.  His brother stood with his own helm under his arm, looking a little uncertain. Loki smiled and said “Nervous, brother?”

“Have you ever known me to benervous?” Thor replied, smirking.

“There was that time in Nornheim...” Loki recalled, but Thor interrupted with a laugh.

“That wasn't nerves, brother. It was the rage of battle!” He grinned. “How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?”

Loki frowned at him. “As I recall,  _I_  was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape.”

“Some do battle, others just do tricks,” Thor said as a servant approached with a goblet of wine for Thor. Loki heard the man try to stifle a laugh at Thor’s words and Loki clenched his jaw before waving his hand lazily at the goblet. Snakes slithered out and the servant screamed, dropping the goblet. Loki chuckled and looked away.  _Serves him right_.

“Loki...” Thor sighed. Loki rolled his eyes and waved at the snakes on the ground. They turned back into wine and Thor said “Now that was just a waste of good wine.”

“Just a bit of fun,” Loki dismissed, then turned his gaze to the servant. “Right, my friend?”

The servant swallowed and backed away slightly. Thor smirked and put his helm on. Loki glanced over at him, grinned, and said “Nice feathers.”

“You don’t really want to start this again, do you, Cow?” Thor said.

“I was being sincere!” Loki defended.

“You are incapable of sincerity,” Thor said, raising his eyebrows at Loki.

“Am I?” Loki felt a stab of hurt at that. He turned to Thor and said seriously “I've looked forward to this day as long as you have.” Okay that was a lie. “You're my brother and my friend. Sometimes I’m envious, but never doubt that I love you.” That was true. As much as Thor hurt him, he still somehow loved his brother. Thor searched his face for a moment, trying to figure out of he was lying or not.

Finally, Thor put a hand on Loki’s shoulder, saying quietly “Thank you.”

Loki nodded, then grinned, saying teasingly “Now give us a kiss.”

“Stop it,” Thor pushed his arm and Loki cackled until Tor said “How do I look?”

Loki's smile faded slightly and he said “Like a King.”

A horn sounded from the hall above and Loki said “It's time.”

“You go ahead,” Thor said. Loki sighed warily and he continued “I'll be along. Go on.”

Loki just rolled his eyes and left, knowing what Thor wanted. He walked up the steps to the throne room and quickly spotted Sif and the Warriors Three. He walked over to them and stood next to Fandral, hands behind his back.

“Sif has challenged me to keep my mouth shut,” Fandral informed him.

“I see you are failing,” Loki observed dryly and Sif smirked as Volstagg burst out laughing. Fandral just gave Loki a look of mock hurt.

“There is no challenge I cannot succeed in,” he stated.

“What about the time you were challenged to a drinking competition against Thor?” Volstagg said, grinning.

“Aye, well, that's  _Thor_ ,” Fandral said. “And I was already half-drunk, so it didn't count.”

“Sore loser,” Loki teased, bumping into Fandral's shoulder and grinning.

“You're one to talk,” Fandral replied indignantly. Loki looked away at the throne and saw Odin sitting there. Loki clenched his jaw and watched as Frigga joined him. The Allfather then scanned the room, pausing when his eye met Loki's, a question there. Loki just shrugged and Odin scowled.

“Where  _is_  he?” Volstagg asked, noticing the exchange.

“He said he'd be along,” Loki sighed. Sif suddenly sighed and shook her head in annoyance. Volstagg frowned at her and said “What?”

“He wants to make an entrance,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Well, if he doesn't show up soon, he shouldn't bother. Odin looks like he's ready to feed him to his ravens,” Fandral noted, looking at the two ravens with a wary eye.

“I wouldn't worry. Father will forgive him,” Loki sighed. “He always does.”

A moment later, Thor arrived in all his glory. The audience cheered and Sif rolled her eyes, muttering “Oh,  _please_.”

Loki glanced at Odin and found a look of disapproval on his face. Loki looked back at Thor and watched as his brother moved across the room, smiling before bowing in front of Odin. The Allfather stood and struck his spear on the ground, and the room fell instantly silent.

Loki sensed a ripple of magic and he blinked.  _They're here_ . No one had realized yet.  _Please let them realize soon,_  he prayed. He zoned out of what Odin was saying for a few minutes, shrouding the Jotnar

“Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?” Odin said, looking at Thor.

“I swear,” Thor replied.

“Do you swear to preserve the peace?”

“ I swear.”

“Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?”

There was a beat. Not much, but Loki noticed it and clenched his jaw before Thor replied “I swear.”

“Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you—” He stopped, noticing at last that everyone was shivering. Ice began to creep over the banners and Odin said “Frost Giants.”

The effect was immediate. Thor ran off and the Warriors Three and Sif were soon to follow. Loki glanced at his mother before taking off after them.

“The Destroyer,” Sif said softly as Loki approached. He looked at the twisted corpses that had been the giants and winced slightly.  _No one deserves to die like that_.

“I thought it was a legend,” Volstagg replied in awe, ignoring the corpses.

The Destroyer held the Casket and moved to place it back on the pedestal it had been on. Loki ignored the others and instead focused on Thor. His brother looked ready to kill something.  _Perfect_. And as if on cue, Odin came up behind them.

“The Jotnar must pay for what they've done!” Thor said, looking to Odin immediately.

“They have paid with their lives,” Odin replied calmly. “The Destroyer did its job, and the Casket is safe. All is well.”

“'All is well?' They broke into the Weapons Vault!” Thor argued. “If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics—”

“But they didn't,” Odin replied.

“I want to know why they—”

“The Casket of Ancient Winters belonged to the Jotuns,” Odin interrupted. “They believe it's their birthright.”

“And if you hadn't taken it from them they would have laid waste to all the Nine Realms!” Thor argued again.

“I have a truce with Laufey, the Jotnar King.”

“He just broke your truce! We must  _act_!”

Loki and the other Asgardians had been watching the exchange, eyes going from one to the other. Odin now turned to them and said “Leave us.”

When the Warriors Three and Sif had left, Odin turned to Thor. “And what action would you take?”

“March into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson, break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again!” Thor said immediately and Loki had the urge to hit him for his stupidity.

“You're thinking only as a warrior!” Odin growled.

“This was an act of war!” Thor growled back.

“It was the act of but a few, doomed to fail,” Odin replied.

“They got this far,” Thor replied.

“We will find the breach in ourdefenses,” Odin said. “It will be found, and it will be sealed.”

“As King of Asgard, I would—”

“You are not King.” Odin interrupted again. “Not yet.”

Thor clenched his jaw and glared at Odin before storming out, slamming the door behind him. Odin sighed and Loki said “Well _I_ thought that that went over rather well.”

“Silence, Loki,” Odin snapped. “I've no time for that.”

Loki flinched at that, but Odin apparently didn't notice as he murmured “How did they get  _in_?”

“I'll go try to calm Thor down,” Loki mumbled and walked off, trying to forget his father's words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To hebravelyranaway and Shadows_of_Shemai, would you guys mind if I quoted your comments (about the prompt questions) in my essay? I'd be putting in your usernames, but if you'd rather be anonymous, I can take them out.
> 
> Thank you to all who left comments/kudos


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki tells Darcy about the event of Sif's hair. There's a bit of violence when Loki describes what the dwarfs did, but it doesn't go too far off from the original myth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Obviously.

“Wow, wait,” Darcy said, holding up a hand to stop him for a moment as she poured herself yet another cup of coffee. “So, you manipulated Thor into going to Jotunheinie and told the gatekeeper to get your dad? Even after Odin had realized you were right?”

Loki nodded, looking down. Darcy shook her head slowly, grinning slightly. “Wow. Talk about overkill. Anyway, so you went and confronted the Iceman, so what happened next?”

“Ze admitted to attempting to take the Casket,” Loki said. “Ze said that the House of Odin was full of traitors and also mocked Thor, calling him a boy. I could sense that Thor was getting angry, so I implored him to think; we were greatly outnumbered.” Loki clenched his jaw and mumbled “He told me to 'know my place.'”

Darcy winced. “Ouch. That's harsh. Remind me to smack him later. Or better yet, smack him yourself. Why didn't you smack him?”

Loki looked at her like she was an idiot. “Because when he has his full strength he could easily rip me apart.”

“Oh,” she said. “Yeah, that's a good reason. So then what?”

“Well, we were leaving, or  _about_  to leave, when one of the giants said 'Run home, little princess,' and Thor attacked zim," Loki sighed. "It started a full-on battle."

"And so when did you find out you were a frost giant?" She asked.

Loki shifted. "Well... You see, when a Jotnar grabs you, ze can give you frostbite with one tough. I'd seen it happen to Volstagg, so when one grabbed me, I expected the same to happen, but instead I just turned blue."

"Yeah," Darcy said. "That'll do it. What happened next?"

"As you can imagine, we were outnumbered," Loki said. "We retreated back to the Bifrost site, and just before the Jotnar were about to attack, Father came to retrieve us. He tried to talk with Laufey, but ze declared war. When we got back to the Observatory, Father sent the Warriors Three and Sif off to the healing rooms, leaving just me and Thor there. The two of them argued and Thor called Father a fool. Father then banished Thor, throwing Mjolnir after him, saying that whoever could pick up Mjolnir would be worthy of the power of Thor." He then sighed. “And that is how I accidentally got Thor banished here and discovered my heritage. And now here I am. The end.”

Darcy looked at him for a minute before nodding slowly. "Your dad is one big bag of dicks."

“I-” Loki blinked. “Sorry?”

“Your dad,” Darcy repeated. “He's an asshole. Like, a major asshole. You know, most parents just, like, ground their kids until college, or kick them out of the house when they're twenty-four, but off the  _planet_? That's harsh. What the fuck kind of childhood did  _he_  have where that was acceptable parenting?”

Loki stared at her and said “Thor broke the  _law_. It was  _treason_  to go to Jotunheim.”

“So?” Darcy said, raising her eyebrows. “Seems like Odin needs to chill. Pun intended, yes.”

He ignored the pun and said “This is the fate that awaits me when I return to Asgard!. True, I did not mean for a  _war_  to start from it, but—”

“But you fixed the problem,” Darcy shrugged. “I mean, in the mythology we have, you fuck shit up on a regular basis, but you always fix it, and people even get free shit from it, like a horse.”

Loki blinked and said “A horse?”

“Sleigh-something,” Darcy said. “Eight-legged thing that mythology says you gave birth to. I kinda doubt that's true, though.”

There was silence. Then, Loki said “I am going to  _murder_  Fandral.”

“What? Why?” Darcy asked, grinning.

“I did  _not_  give birth to Sleipnir,” he spat, looking furious, and Darcy burst out laughing. “That is a _filthy lie_ that Fandral came up with  _centuries_  ago. I cannot  _believe_  you humans actually believed that.”

“Well, you also apparently gave birth to a wolf, a snake-thing, and some zombie-chick,” Darcy said, still laughing. “I think she becomes the queen of hell, actually.”

Loki closed his eyes and leaned forwards to put his face in his hands, making a disgruntled noise of embarrassment. “I am  _definitely_  going to kill Fandral. And Thor. And possibly everyone.”

Darcy just laughed again and said “Okay, so how  _did_  Sleepoon become your dad's horse?”

“Sleipnir was born crippled," Loki said, looking up at the sky. "The stable-master was going to shoot him, but his son, my friend Svaldifari, let me in to see him. I had just learned a spell that fixes bones and I was eager to try it out; too eager," he grinned at the memory, "I accidentally gave him eight legs. Svaldifari and I were the only two who could train him, so we did and gave him to Father for his name-day. Fandral and Thor came up with this rumor that Seipnir was our child."

“You mean birthday?” Darcy asked. When Loki looked confused, she said “You know, uh, the day you were born?”

“What odd creatures Midgardians are,” Loki remarked thoughtfully. “I remember once I tried to convince Thor that humans were purple and had brightly colored hair when we were younger. He believed me and that is how we ended up on Midgard for the first time.”

Darcy began to crack up and said “He fell for that?”

“Well, to be fair, he had never actually been to Midgard before, and the Frost Giants are blue with red eyes. It was entirely possible,” he shrugged.

“Damn. What other myths are true? Did you really cut off Sif's hair?” Darcy asked, grinning and giggling. Loki froze and Darcy's giggles stopped. "Hey," she said, looking concerned. "You okay?"

Loki clenched his jaw and nodded slowly. “That is not a story I am particularly fond of remembering,” he said quietly.

“Oh, okay,” she said meekly. "Sorry." They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence and Darcy fuddled with the handle of her mug. Finally, she said "So... What happened? And you don't have to answer. If you don't want. I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Loki muttered. Darcy grinned slightly.

"But satisfaction brought it back," she finished. Loki snorted and lapsed back into silence.

"It was years ago," he said at last. "Years and years and years ago. I was young, and undeniably naïve." He stopped and swallowed before saying "It started when I told Sif that the only reason people tolerated her was because she had the most beautiful hair. It was like spun gold, so long, and she loved it. She fancied Thor, and tried to get his attention. She succeeded too, but ignored me and pushed me to the side, and Thor didn't notice because she was beautiful and what more could one wish for in a woman?" Loki put the coffee mug down. Darcy said nothing and he continued "And so I told her the truth; that the only reason Thor liked her was because of her hair. And she said that it may be true, but at least people liked her, whereas no one liked me. And what more could I say? No one  _did_ like me except for Svaldifari, and perhaps Fandral, but I hadn't known Svald at the time. Everyone else hated me because I had told one truth too many. 

"She then started in on my magic, saying that I wasn't a  _true_ warrior because I preferred a 'womanly' art instead of taking up a sword. I was angry and upset, and I simply walked away. I went to my room and spent the night there, simply trying to forget what she'd said. I spent most of the night awake, but eventually got to sleep. The next morning, though, I woke to Thor bursting into my room. It was late in the morning, unusual for me. He asked to know why I was still in bed and I told him that I'd been up late. He then dragged me out of bed in order to have breakfast. While we ate, Sif came up, a scarf around her head, and began screaming at me, saying that I'd cut her hair off during the night. I denied it and she called me a liar. And Thor took her side." Loki stopped and blinked. "Thor took her side. Just as he always had. He dragged me out and demanded to know what I'd done with the hair, and yet again, I denied having done the deed. H-He wouldn't believe me and began to," Loki paused and said "I believe the term you humans use is 'beat the crap,' no?"

Darcy winced. "I'm gonna tase him in the balls. What did you do?"

"What  _could_ I do?" Loki asked helplessly. "There are only so many times I  _like_ having a fist connect with my body. In hopes he would stop, I finally admitted to the crime. He stopped and pushed me against the wall and ch-choked me. He told me that I had better find a way to fix it, to replace Sif's hair." He stopped and realized he was shaking a bit. He drank a bit of coffee before continuing "He dropped me and then went off to try and comfort Sif."

"Wait, wait," Darcy said, a look of murder in her eyes. "So first Thor almost  _kills_ you, then orders you to fix a problem you didn't even start?" She shook her head in disbelief. "How did you not, like, fear for your life?"

Loki said nothing, instead picking at a loose thread on his shirt.

"Oh,  _fuck_ ," she said at last. "You're afraid of him."

"No, I'm not!" Loki said, but it was a half-hearted denial. "Only when he's angry. Anyway, I left Asgard to find a replacement for Sif's hair. I went to the Elves first, but there was nothing they suggested that would work. I tried Vanaheim, but there was nothing there as well. I finally ended up in Nidavellir. I found three dwarfs that boasted that they could make anything. I asked them if they could make golden hair for Sif, and they said that they could, but it would cost me. I hadn't enough money, so instead they offered a different deal. They said that they could make the hair, but in return, I would give them my head. I agreed to their deal, and they started their work.

"The finished product was... magnificent," Loki sighed. "More beautiful than the hair she'd originally had. They then readied their axe to take my head with, but  before they could take it, I said that though I'd promised my head as payment, they couldn't take any of my neck. I gave then an hour to figure out how to successfully do this, but they couldn't figure it out. They were angry, accusing me of trickery and stealing. They wanted to silence my silver tongue, they said." He stopped and memories flicked through his mind of unbearable pain and blood and the gleam of a silver needle. "They held me down and sewed my lips together, so I couldn't speak. Then, they threw me into their dungeon and left me there."

"How did you escape?" Darcy asked, eyes wide. She looked horrified.

"I didn't," Loki said quietly. "A week later, the Allfather came looking for me. The dwarves dragged me up to him and he took me home." Loki hugged himself and slumped his shoulders, a burning in his eyes. He wiped them and said tightly "No one even noticed I was missing. People laughed when they saw the dwarf's  _handiwork_ and I fled and took the stitches out myself." He roughly wiped away angry and humiliated tears and Darcy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Take a deep breath," she said softly. "It's okay, they can't hurt you. No one can hurt you, you're safe here. Just breath, okay? Focus on that for a bit."

Loki took a deep breath and Darcy scooted closer, putting her arms around him. "Is this okay?" He nodded, suddenly unable to speak. She hugged him for a while and said "How old were you? In human terms?"

Loki swallowed and whispered "How long do humans usually live for?"

"I dunno," she said. "Eighty-two years?"

"Fourteen. I'd've been roughly fourteen."

She looked up at him, disgust written on her face. He cringed and she hissed "Those complete  _bastards_! How could someone do that to a fucking  _kid_? How old was Thor?"

"Seventeen?" Loki guessed, voice trembling. Darcy hugged him tighter and said nothing. Loki was glad for it. He closed his eyes for a few minutes before mumbling "I don' know you very well."

"So? Everyone needs a hug every once in a while," she said. "And you clearly have not gotten enough. Hey, if you go back to Asgard, can you take me with you? I wanna kick some Asgardian ass."

Loki gave a shaky laugh and she grinned. "There we go! Feeling better?"

"Define 'better.'" Loki replied and pulled away, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked, shrugging. "I don't mind. We've all got problems." She looked at him and said "You've been holding all of this shit in for a long while though, haven't you?"

"Yes," Loki said slowly. "I have." He looked down and sniffed, wiping his eyes. Darcy was quiet for a while until she wasn't and said "When do you stop preforming?"

"What?" he asked, looking up at her, confused.

"When do you stop preforming," she repeated. "Like, for other people. When do you just be you?"

"Be me?" Loki laughed bitterly. "How can I be me? I tried that once when I was younger; it didn't go well."

"Then maybe it's time to try again," she said, shrugging. "I mean, people'll judge you no matter what, so sometimes you've just gotta be yourself and not care what other people think. And yeah, it's hard o not care; believe me, I know it. I used to care so much what people thought of me."

"You don't anymore?" Loki asked.

"Nah," she said, shrugging. "I mean, sometimes. But typically? If I'm in public? Why the hell do I care? it's not like I'll ever see those people again. I mean, I grew up in a city, so if you did something embarrassing on the train, you'd never see those people again. It's harder in a small town like this 'cuz everyone knows everyone, you know what I mean?"

Loki nodded and wiped his nose. He swallowed and then said "I didn't speak for a long time afterwords, and even when I started again, it wasn't often, and people usually missed or ignored what I said. I mostly hid; kept away from large crowds. I avoided my father and Thor and Sif. That was when I met Svaldifari."

"Was he nice?" She asked curiously. A ghost of a smile appeared on Loki's lips.

"He was the kindest person I'd ever met," Loki said fondly. "He the only person I'd ever known who was genuinely interested in what I had to say, who made me feel like I wasn't invisible." He shrugged. "I spent a lot of time with him."

Darcy nodded. "You still friends?"

"Mm." Loki hummed and looked up at the sky before frowning a little. "The stars have changed."

"What'd you mean?" She asked, also looking up.

"There aren't as many," Loki said. "Too many lights, I suppose. I remember when there were so many out."

"Are Asgard's stars different?" She asked curiously. 

"Yes," he said. "They're bigger. But not as bright, and they're a very, very light color."

Darcy looked up. "When you're in the city," she said, "you can't see any."

Loki scrunched up his nose in disgust. Darcy grinned at him and said "I liked seeing the stars when I could. I used to try and take pictures of them when I saw them, but the camera could never catch them; too dark out." She looked at the empty coffeepot and said “Hey, someone turned the music off! Wanna go downstairs and pick another CD? I'd play something on my iPod but those SHIELD morons stole it.”

"No, thank you," Loki said. He paused then said "May I sleep up here?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, shrugging. "Wanna blanket or something?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Loki replied. "And thank you for listening."

"Hey, no problem, Green Eyes," she said, smiling. "G'night!"

"Good night, Miss Lewis." Loki pulled his cloak out again and wrapped it around him, using his bag as a pillow. He laid down and looked up at the sky, wondering just how many stars would vanish from Midgard's sky before he died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers!
> 
> Okay, so the last chapter contained deleted scenes from the Thor movie; however, I've only ever seen the movie on television, and it had all of the deleted scenes in it, so I'd forgotten that they weren't in the official version of the movie.
> 
> Also, yes, the "big bag of dicks" comment Darcy makes is a reference to Supernatural.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameras.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Loki awoke to someone stroking his hair, nails gently scratching his scalp. His head was resting in someone's lap and there was a blanket over him. It was so very warm and he gave a contented sigh before turning over, snuggling closer to the warmth. The fingers paused as he moved, and he was sorry for the loss of it, but enjoyed it when the fingers continued when he finished moving.

"He awake yet?" A loud, female voice said.

"Nay," said a deeper, blissfully quieter voice. "He's merely stirring in his sleep."

"Oh," the female said again. "'Kay."

The quiet resumed and Loki drifted in between slumber and wakefulness, half-formed dreams floating through his mind and in front of his eyes. He let it continue for a while longer before deciding it was probably time to wake. With great difficulty, he sighed again and squeezed his eyes shut, tensing his whole body before releasing and opening his eyes. A face of blond and blue and concern peered down at him and the hand in Loki's hair paused for a moment. Loki blinked up sleepily at his brother and mumbled "Why'd you stop?"

Thor continued instantly and Loki decided that this "waking up" business was too much troublesome, but his brother then said softly "Good morning, Loki."

Loki gave a grunt in reply, eyes closing again. "Wha'tm's it?"

Thor translated Loki's sleepy mumblings and said "Nearly past ten."

"Yeah," the female voice said. "Jane's already had three cups of coffee and's working on science stuff."

Loki opened his eyes again and sighed before reluctantly sitting up. He frowned and pulled the blanket around his shoulders, looking around. A hot cup of something was pushed into his hands and he was too disoriented to argue, so he simply accepted it with a mumble that might have been a "thank you," and sipped. "This isn't where I feel asleep," he said at last. That much he knew. Everything past that was fuzzy.

"Yeah, Thor carried you down this morning," the woman said. Loki turned to look at Thor and suddenly saw the bright red mark on his brother's cheek.

"Wha happened to your _face_?" He asked, frowning at the Thunderer.

"Darcy hit me," Thor replied solemnly.  _Oh, yes,_ Loki thought, sipping his slightly bitter drink.  _Darcy_. 

Darcy. Coffee. Stars. Sif, dwarfs, needles, and  _shit shit shit_. Everything came back all at once and Loki's eyes went wide, lips parting slightly as he looked at her, then at Thor. Darcy flopped down unceremoniously on the sofa next to him and said "Hey, Green Eyes. You okay?"

"You  _told_ him?" Loki asked, eyes wide. He scooted away from Thor, eyeing him warily.

"I asked," Thor said quietly, looking down. "Loki..." He looked back up, sadness and anger in his eyes. "Loki, do you fear me?"

_No,_ Loki wanted to say, flinching at the question.  _Of course not_. But the words wouldn't pass his lips, so he simply remained silent, eyes sliding away. 

"How long?" Thor asked, voice shaking. "Loki, how long have I- How long have I made you afraid? Before or after the incident with Sif?"

Loki was trembling. Darcy took the cup of coffee from him before he could spill it and set it on the table before wrapping her arms around him. "S'okay," she said. "I gotcha."

"I didn't ever finish that tale," Loki said softly.

"Do you want to?" Darcy asked. He hesitated before saying "You should know. I went back to Nidavellir after I was brought back to Asgard. I went to steal the hair the dwarfs have made. I was successful, too. I went to Sif and just... gave it to her. But when it was attached to her head, it turned black. The dwarfs had anticipated I'd come to steal it and put a curse over it. When she started screaming at me, I told her I hadn't stolen her hair anyway, but that I wish I'd known who had so I could thank them for their service. Then I fled." Loki swallowed, not daring to look at Thor. He didn't say that he fled because he was afraid she would go to him. "Next I heard, her parents had sent her to battle school. She became one of the best warriors Asgard has to offer. We've since then mostly made our peace with each other, but..."

"You never forgave," Thor said softly, remembering what Loki had said. "And you never forgot."

Loki nodded and Darcy hugged him tighter, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Don't worry, Lokes," she said. "If anyone tries to hurt you again, I'll tase 'em in the balls."

"Loki," Thor pleaded. "Loki, look at me. Please, brother, look at me." He looked up slowly, seeing Thor's eyes rimmed with red. "I am so, so sorry," Thor said. "For all the hurt and pain. Father was right." He looked away from Loki, hugging himself. "I am unworthy of the loved ones I have betrayed."

Loki laughed at that, albeit shakily. "Yet so have I. I lied to you. Hel, we've  _both_ committed treason."

"But you've not hurt me to the extent I've hurt you," Thor said. "You fix your mistakes and deal with them, and I..."

"Don't," Loki finished softly. " _Ever_."  _Leaving me to fix them for you_.

Thor flinched and looked down, shamed. Loki looked away and said "I did fix it though. I've ended the war."

"Oh?" Thor said, still sounding miserable. Loki nodded.

"I killed Laufey," he whispered. "And I met my kin. An older sibling." He glanced up quickly at Thor before saying "My... um...  _other_ older sibling. Helbindi." Loki picked at the blanket. "Ze's decent. Apparently when I killed Laufey, I became King of Jotunheim." Thor's head snapped up and Loki smiled a little. "I gave the crown to Helbindi. I didn't want it; ruling one Realm is hard enough, especially when I didn't even want it. I then made a new treaty with zim and beat zim at chess. Jotunheim and Asgard are allies now." He snorted and said "Ironic, isn't it? I ended up fulfilling the purpose the Allfather took me for." He pulled out the thread he'd been playing with and said "That reminds me; Father woke last night. I originally came here to tell you. He'll probably want to arrest me."

There was silence for a few minutes. That is, until Darcy said "Smile!"

There was a bright flash and Loki yelped, falling off the sofa. "What the Hel?"

Darcy cackled and said "By the way, dude, did you know you sleep like the dead? Like, when Thor carried you down from the roof, your mouth was hanging open and you were drooling and snoring. It was freaking hilarious. I wanted to take pictures, but Jane wouldn't let me." She brought up the picture she'd just taken and cackled again. "Oh my  _god_ your  _faces_!"

It was then that Jane decided to appear. Her brown hair had been pulled into a ponytail and Darcy called "Hi, Jane! Come look at these pictures, they're  _priceless_!"

"Maybe later," Jane said vaguely.

"Oh, come  _on_ ," Darcy whined. "You've been doin' science since, like, seven AM. That's just crazy. Come here an' take a break."

Jane sighed and poured herself a cup of coffee before walking over, sitting on the sofa next to Thor. She frowned at him ands aid "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he brushed off.

"What is that  _infernal_ device?" Loki asked, trying to blink away the flash in his eyes.

"'Tis called a 'camera,'" Thor said.

"Yeah," Darcy said. "Did you know Thor smiles on command?"

"Does me?" Loki asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "After Jane hit him with her van again, we took him for breakfast and I asked him to smile so I could take a picture, but he didn't even know what a camera was or anything, so yeah; Thor smiled on command."

"May I see that?" Loki asked, nodding at the camera. She handed it to him and Loki crossed his legs, turning it over in his hands. "How does it work?"

Darcy sat on the floor next to him and began to explain how to turn it on, and some of the settings. Loki accidentally took a picture of himself with the flash on and yelped, dropping it at the sudden brightness. Darcy laughed and picked up the camera, looking at the photo before laughing again. "Oh, that's a _beautiful_ picture."

Loki blinked a few times to clear his vision before peering at the screen, making a face. "Get rid of it."

"Nope!" She said happily. "Can I take a better one, though?"

Thor watched them as Loki said "Fine, but turn that flashing off before it blinds me."

"Is he always like this?" Jane murmured to Thor, smiling. Thor shook his head and realized that he didn't really know.

"Loki has always loved new things," Thor said softly. He likes to know how things work. He will sometimes vanish for a while, then reappear without warning and continue as though he had never gone. I never asked where he'd gone..."

"Secret places," Loki interjected. Darcy snorted and took another picture before explaining to Loki how to use the camera. Loki then took it, turned the flash back on, and snapped a picture of Thor. The resulting picture was hilarious and Loki grinned at it. "Where may I purchase my own camera?"

"Probably Walmart," Darcy shrugged. "That's where I got this one. I'd show you ones on the internet, but SHIELD hasn't returned our computers and stuff yet. Though, they  _said_  we'd get it back in about a week. I really want my iPod back."

Jane rolled her eyes and mumbled "You and your stupid iPod..."

"What? I like my music!" Darcy replied indignantly. "And there's no info about your science stuff on it anyway!"

She and Jane continued to bicker for a few more moments and Loki watched before looking back at Thor and saying "Are they always like this?"

"Er..." Jane and Darcy had stopped and were now looking at him. He just shrugged. "Sometimes?"

“Humph." Darcy got up and said “Come on, Janie. Let’s go into your room and paint each others nails and you can give me all the juicy details about your 'doing the do' last night.”

Before Jane could protest, Darcy had taken her arm and was dragging her towards the bedroom. Once the door was closed, Loki got up off the floor and put the camera on the table,picking up his coffee again instead and sitting down across from Thor. The two stared at each other for a few moments before Loki sighed and said “"I should go back. I promised I would explain myself when Father woke."

Thor nodded, then grinned slightly and said "Ah, but did you specify what  _time_  after he woke?"

"No..." Loki said, then snorted, saying "Oh, I  _love_  it when you're devious, Thor. Admittedly, it does not happen particularly  _often_ , but..." He trailed off, shrugging, and Thor chuckled, looking down. Loki soon joined him and said "I set fireworks off."

"Fire what?" Thor looked confused and his smile half faded.

"Fireworks!" Loki said, grinning. "They are a lovely Midgardian invention. They send colorful sparks into the sky with very loud explosions. I set several to go off when Father woke, then left the palace so I could get a decent view of the show, then came here."

Thor threw back his head and laughed. "I imagine none will be too pleased about that."

"They didn't cause any harm!" Loki insisted. "Just a bit of fun. Besides, the children in Asgard seemed to enjoy it."

They continued to smile and, well,  _giggle_  over Loki's recent mischief until Thor glanced up, smile fading slightly. "What will you say when you go back?"

Loki went quiet as he considered the question. Finally, he shrugged. "I grow weary of lies, brother," he said. "So what else is there now but the truth?"

Thor smiled and rubbed his neck. "What indeed, brother," he sighed. "What indeed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY FUCKING GOD OKAY SO I WAS WRITING THIS THIS MORNING, EXCEPT THE PAGE RELOADED AND I LOST ALL THE WRITING I'D DONE, THEN JUST ABOUT HALF OF AN HOUR AGO, MY COMPUTER RESTARTED AFTER UPDATING AND AGGRHHGHGHHH I WAS SO PISSED.
> 
> So yeah. That's why this chapter's a bit late today. I'm not completely satisfied with it, but uuughhhh, I'm so done with writing this over and over again. I'll maybe edit it later, but for now, it's good enough.
> 
> Thank you to all who left kudos/comments. You guys are what made me plow on through writing today to get this chapter posted.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Loki play War, Darcy wants to keep Loki, and Loki wants to smuggle Darcy into Asgard. Oh, and then there's that minor thing with that hammer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Darcy and Loki were on the floor with a pack of cards, furiously playing a game called "War" while Thor watched and Jane took notes and did science at the kitchen table.

“I have never in all my life played such a simple yet wonderful card game,” Loki said as he flipped over another card, then brightened as it turned out to be an Ace. Darcy flipped a King and Loki grinned, saying "Ace beats King. Hand it over."

Darcy begrudgingly handed over her King and said "Just saying, but I once won a game when I'd gotten down to one card."

"I once won a battle of wits by gaining an immunity to a certain kind of poison, then put poison into both cups of wine," Loki replied.

“Dude! That's like  _The Princess Bride_  where Westley and Vizzini have a battle of wits, and Westley puts poison into both glasses of wine without Vizzini knowing, then puts one glass in front of him, and then one in front of himself and asks where the poison is. He then reveals to Buttercup that the poison was in both glasses, and that he'd gained an immunity to the poison,” Darcy said. "Also there's this quote I really like that goes  _'I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed'_."

Loki smirked at that and said "Oh, that _is_ amusing. Mind if I use that sometime?"

"Go ahead," Darcy said, grinning. "I think it's paraphrased from Shakespeare. Hey, have you ever seen  _The Princess Bride_?"

“"No," Loki said. "Nine beats five."

"We should watch it. Jane, did they leave us the TV?" Darcy asked, turning around as Loki took his cards.

"No," Jane said flatly, not looking up from the research.

"Damn!" She turned back to Loki and said "Guess we'll watch it next time. Oh! But there's a book! Hold on, I've got it somewhere..." She gut up and walked to the bookshelf before pulling it out and holding it out to Loki saying "This is my favorite book of all time. If you rip it, throw it, get it wet, get food on it, or write in it, I  _will_  find you, and you  _will_  pay, even if I have to go all the way to Asgard and drag your ass to the nearest cliff, understood?"

"Understood," Loki said solemnly. Darcy relinquished the book and sat down again, saying "You should read  _The Great Gatsby_ , too. That's another favorite of mine. Have you read any Shakespeare?"

He looked at her like she was stupid and said 'I've  _met_  Shakespeare, Miss Lewis."

Darcy went quiet for a minute before saying "How old are you?"

Loki blinked at her before saying "About one-thousand, five-hundred years old, to round it off. Thor is older by about two-hundred years."

Darcy pulled out her phone and said "Hey, Jane, how long do humans usually live for?"

"Eighty-two years," Jane said flatly. "Approximately."

"And Loki, or any Asgardian really, how long do you guys live for?" She asked.

"About five-thousand years, give or take," Loki replied.

Darcy pressed a few buttons and said "Holy shit."

"What?" Jane asked. Darcy looked up at Jane and said “He's twenty-four.”

"What?" Jane said, staring at her.

"No, no, and get this! Thor's twenty-six!" Darcy looked up at Loki and said "You're almost my age!"

"I am not!" Loki said hotly.

"Numbers don't lie!" Darcy sang. "Look, if you divide five-thousand by eighty-two, you get about sixty-one if you round to the nearest whole number. Then, you take your age and divide it by sixty-one and you get twenty five, except you said you'd rounded it off and holy  _shit_  you're young!"

Loki glowered and said "I'm not  _that_ young!"

"Not by human terms, but by Asgardian?" Darcy asked, raising an eyebrow. Loki huffed.

"Fine, yes," he admitted. "I'm considered young. So?"

"No, no," she said. "But this makes  _sense_!" Darcy said, putting her phone away. "You’re going through your rebellious stage! The one who refuses authority of any kind. I'll admit committing treason's going a bit far, but hell, who cares? You're twenty-four and..and..." Darcy got up and growled "I swear to god I'm going to tase Odin so hard, he won't be able to tell which way is up for  _months_."

Thor went pale and Jane said "Darcy, calm down; you're overreacting."

Darcy whipped around and hissed "They did  _exactly_  what my parents did to me! God  _fucking_  dammit!" She got on her knees and put her hands on Loki's shoulders before saying “You took your revelation better than I did, just remember that. When I found out, I went  _berserk_! I mean, I already told  _you_  what happened when I found out, and meanwhile you've gotten peace treaty signed and a whole bunch of other shit done and you're  _twenty-fucking-four_! I mean, most people at twenty-four around here probably have jobs on the weekends, or in summer, and you went and became a king! _Twice_! I mean, never mind that you've committed treason, but you were smart enough to get people into Asgard,  _knowing_  that they wouldn't get very far because of the Destroyer-thing. You're a  _mastermind_. A genius, even! And everyone's giving you hell because you don't like violence? Big deal! You stopped a  _war_! Granted, you're half responsible for starting said war, but you fixed it! I mean, really, in every story I've heard about you, you cause a lot of shit, but you always figure out a solution in the end. A horse born crippled? Let's give it eight legs! No one died, no one got hurt, and hey, we got a free eight-legged horse out of it!" She sat down behind Loki and threw her arms around him, glaring at the ceiling. "You can have him back when you learn to be nice!" She pointed the taser at the ceiling as well and Jane sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"Darcy, you can't keep Loki," Jane said.

"Why not?" She asked, not releasing Loki quite yet, but lowering the taser. "You've got Thor. Besides, I'd take better care of him than they do." She glared at the ceiling again and began to stroke Loki's hair. Loki was happy to have someone touching him again.

"Yes, why can't she?" Loki said, crossing his arms. “I don't want to go back to Asgard yet, and Miss Lewis is one of the few people who actually likes me. And it will hardly matter; as soon as I return to Asgard, I am sure to be banished anyway. Even if I am cleared of all charges, I will be leaving Asgard for a while."

"Why?" Thor asked, frowning slightly. Loki shrugged.

"I wanted to before Father made me King," he said. "I've got an edge of wanderlust. Though, I think I'll take the mortal with me. Thor, can I keep this mortal?"

"If she, Mother and Father agree, then yes," Thor said. Loki frowned.

"Father would never agree, he hates humans," Loki mumbled. "Though, Mother might. But then she'd say that you can't  _keep_  mortals and- What are you doing?” He asked, glancing at Darcy.

"Don't," Darcy said, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Your hair is very nice and since  Jane won't let me braid  _hers_ , and you're sitting here _anyway_ , I'm braiding your hair."

"You could braid Thor's," Loki suggested. "He'd be delighted. And his hair's longer."

"But he's all the way over  _there_ ," Darcy complained. "Going over there requires  _moving_ , and I'm a lazy shit who only moves when Jane wants something because she's my boss."

Loki shifted uncomfortable, a blush rising to his cheeks as he said “Miss Lewis, I would appreciate it if you took your legs off of my waist.”

“’Kay,” she said and let them drop into a V shape as she scooted back, then crossed them in front of her, continuing to braid his hair. "And dude, I would _totally_ go with you. Hey Jane, if he asks, can I go wandering with a Norse God?"

Jane put her head on the table and said "I never thought I would be asked that."

"Oh, come on! It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience!" Darcy said, bouncing slightly. " _Pleeease_?"

"It could be dangerous," Loki warned. "I don't always go to the safest places."

"I'll bring my taser along," she shrugged. Loki grinned and said "Oh, I  _like_ you. Thor, I am no longer asking permission if I can keep her, I think I'll simply smuggle her back to Asgard."

"I think Heimdall would find out, Loki," Thor said.

"I am one of the most accomplished sorcerers in the Nine Realms. I smuggled multiple Frost Giants into Asgard under Heimdall's very nose. You truly think smuggling a mortal girl into Asgard would give me much hardship?"

"Well, he's got you there," Darcy said, smirking. She suddenly poke Loki’s side sharply and said " _Bzzt_!"

Loki jumped about a mile and yelped before glaring at her. The others smiled slightly and Darcy only gave him a shit-eating grin while saying "Gotcha."

"Keep that up and I may change my mind," he warned. She stuck her tongue out at him and hugged him again.

"I feel like we're friends," she said. "Are we friends? I wanna be friends." Before Loki could answer, she looked at Jane and said "Jane, you've been replaced by a guy who's supposed to be fictional."

"That's great, Darce," Jane said, clearly not paying attention anymore.

"See?" Darcy said, looking back at Loki. "She doesn't even pay attention to me."

"You poor thing," Loki deadpanned. Darcy scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at him before saying “Oh! Have you tried Poptarts yet?” She got up and walked to the cupboard, looking through before saying "Thor, did you eat all the Poptarts?"

"Maybe," Thor said, grinning.

"You  _dick_ ," Darcy said. "Jane, why did you let him eat all the Poptarts?"

"Such crude language for a lady," Loki said, raising his eyebrows.

"Damn right," Darcy said, winking at him. "I may be a woman, but that doesn't mean I'm a lady. Though, I  _can_  wear pretty dresses and heels and do makeup and nails pretty well. I can look  _damn fine_  if I want to."

"I believe it," Loki said. Darcy picked up a handbag and put on a pair of flip-flops.

"I'm gonna get more Poptarts. And milk," she said. "Anyone wanna come?"

"You know, I really  _should_ be going back now," Loki sighed.

"Procrastination time!" Darcy said and grabbed his arm. "We should totally get you a Tumblr later. I wonder what your url would be, anyway. Heh. That'd be fun to come up with. I'll think about it while you're gone and set it up for you."

Loki pulled away from her and backed away a little. "Darcy, I  _am_  sorry. I truly would like to stay, but I must return to Asgard and face my father and whatever punishment is bestowed upon me. I cannot avoid it forever, and it is much better to get these things over with as soon as possible."

Thor got up and walked over, saying "Loki, I am truly sorry you have to face this alone. You've done things alone for too long. But know that I love you and forgive you for your wrongs against Asgard." He looked down and said "To ask for your forgiveness in return, I fear, would never be fair. I have done far too much to you in that aspect. However, I hope you will allow me, one day, to try and earn your trust back, as well as your love."he looked back up and said quietly "I wish to know you better."

Loki studied Thor silently for a few minutes before saying "A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed you. But you've changed."

"As have you," Thor pointed out. Loki inclined his head and shrugged.

"True," he said, smiling. "We both have. And Thor, if not my trust, you've my love as your family. I would be glad to get to know you better as well. Here," he held out his hand and said, with a mock air of formality, "I'm Loki Odinson. A pleasure to meet you."

Thor smiled and took his hand. "Greetings, Loki Odinson. I am Thor Odinson. I hope to be more acquainted with you in the future."

"Likewise," Loki said. They shook hands, Darcy giggling behind them. Thor then let go and hugged Loki fiercely instead. After a moment, Loki embraced him back, just as tightly.

There was a sudden flash and a loud crack and smash as the windows smashed. Jane an Darcy both screamed and ducked back, throwing up their arms to try and protect their heads. Loki stumbled back from Thor, and when the light cleared, he heard Jane say "Oh my  _God_."

"Well," Loki said, grinning as Thor looked down at the hammer now clutched in his hand, dumbfounded, "I guess you can escort me back after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Procrastination is what gets my fanfictions done. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Thanks to those who commented and left kudos!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki admits things to Odin and Frigga, causes some mischief, and then leaves Asgard in style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.

Loki and Thor reached Odin's study together. Thor knocked and Loki tried not to look too nervous. Thor smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder as Odin called "Enter."

The two walked in, Loki first, Thor second, Mjolnir clutched in his hand. Frigga, who had been speaking with Odin, smiled, her eyes lighting up. "Welcome home, my sons." She stepped forwards and embraced Thor, who was closer, and then Loki. Odin gazed at them both, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Loki remain," he said at last. "Thor, I will speak with you later."

Thor clenched his jaw, standing straighter. "Father, with all due respect, I wish to remain as well. Loki has told me everything.”

Odin narrowed his eye and said "I see. And what exactly includes  _everything_?"

"Everything since I was banished," Thor replied honestly. "I know that you lied to Loki and me. I know it was he who let the Frost Giants into Asgard and I have already forgiven him for it. You should know that  _my brother_  has my full support."

Odin nodded slowly, eye slowly moving from Thor to Loki, who was looked at the edge of the desk rather than at his father. "And what would you say, Loki?"

"I accept full responsibility for my actions and the due punishment for them, however you see fit, my King," Loki said, still looking at the floor.

"Look at me," Odin said evenly; not an order, but not a request either. Loki hesitated for a moment, then lifted his eyes to Odin’s face, bracing to see disappointment, however Odin's face was carefully neutral, his eye searching him carefully.

"I have been told of your accomplishments in my absence," he said at last and there was a touch of something on his face that Loki didn't recognize for a moment. Then, his eyes widened as he realized what it was. _Pride_. "In the short time of a month, you have earned the respect of your people and that of another Realm. On top of that, you have ended a war and created a new treaty and alliance with Jotunheim. I find myself impressed." Loki's heart swelled at the compliments and his lips twitched in a half-smile. Odin continued. " However, your misdeeds cannot go unnoticed, however well-meaning they were intended to be"

"I understand," Loki said, heart sinking ever so slightly, but the pride still there

"Loki," Frigga said, stepping forward. "Why did you not come to speak with one of us of your concerns?"

Loki blinked, his lips parting. He then frowned and said "I don't understand."

"I mean why didn't you tell us that you thought Thor wasn't ready," she clarified, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"You misunderstand me," Loki said, shaking his head and looking at her. "I  _did_ voice my concerns, months before the coronation, to Father. Did he not tell you?"

Frigga's eyes widened for a moment in shock. Then, a stony look came over her and she said "No. I'm afraid he did not." She looked at Odin and said "We will speak of this later,  _my King_." Loki and Thor looked at one another and winced at the tone; Frigga was most certainly  _not_ pleased.

"As you wish, my Queen," Odin replied. He looked back at Loki and said "It still does not excuse your actions. You broke our treaty and brought Jotnar into Asgard, into the Vault. Do you deny this?"

"I grow weary of lying," Loki said and spread his hands in a gesture. "I am guilty of all charges."

"Could you explain how you succeeded in bringing them here?" Odin asked, leaning back in his chair."What was your full plan?" And so Loki explained how he had planned, front to back, inside and out. taking in every consideration, making backup plans, then backup plans for the backup plans. The whole explanation took half an hour.

"I even planned what would be said if Thor and I weren't stopped from reaching Laufey's temple," Loki said. "Ze would give us a way out, and we would return to Asgard. What I _didn't_ anticipate was a Jotun insulting Thor on the way out. From there, I had no backup plan."

Odin nodded and considered before saying "You have committed treason against the crown, aiding our enemy. You put the peace of the Nine Realms at stake to prove a point." He paused. "I would say you should have come to me first, however you did come to me, and I did not heed your advice." He looked down and said quietly "I have wronged you, my son, and I am sorry. But it does not excuse the deed." He stood and said "What do you think a suitable punishment ought to be?"

"Banishment," Loki said without hesitation. "Stripping of rank and name, as you did with Thor. When and if I am to return remains up to you."

Odin nodded thoughtfully, then said "A decade, then, of exile from Asgard. Loki Odinson, I strip you of your rank and name, and cast you out. One decade, and not a day sooner under punishment of fifty lashes, should you be found here. Do you understand?"

Thor frowned before putting a hand on Loki's shoulder, squeezing gently. Loki nodded and said "I understand."

Odin nodded. “You have exactly one hour to remove yourself from this Realm, starting... now."

Loki smiled and said "Thank you, Allfather." He looked around before seeing Frigga. He smiled at her and she glared at Odin.

"Odin, how could you do this  _again_?" She demanded, putting her arms around Loki protectively. Loki sighed and said "Mother, what is done is done. Besides, I'd have left anyway." He pecked her cheek and winked at her quickly before pulling away. He turned and snapped, clothes changing into jeans and a black shirt. He then turned and began walking down the hall, saying "I've had a wanderlust for a month now. Besides, ruling doesn't agree with me."

Before he reached the door, he stopped,hand on the knob. "Wait," he said. "Exactly  _how_  long did you say I had before I had to be gone? An hour?" He grinned and looked behind his shoulder, saying " _Perfect_." He snapped and Thor's cape turned a bright pink, his hair turning a lovely shade of blue to match his eyes and curling gently. He then hooted in delight before turning and taking off before Thor realized what was happening. A moment later he heard Thor roar " _LOKI_!"

Loki ducked behind a statue and watched as Thor barreled past, shouting "Change it back!" He snickered for a few moments.  _I wonder if I have anymore fireworks,_  he thought, then decided to see how much chaos he could cause before his hour was up.

Back in the throne room, Odin was leaning on Gungnir, head in his hand and saying "In all the Nine, why did I give him an  _hour_?"

"I've no idea, my love," Frigga said, trying to suppress her smile, "but I must admit you look quite lovely in that shade of green."

“Hmm?” Odin looked down and realized that his gold armor had turned a light, metallic green, his cape turning purple. The only thing that had remained gold was his eye-patch. Odin just groaned again and said “What have I  _done_?”

* * *

 Fifty minutes later, Loki was sitting on the banister of a balcony on the palace, eating a pear he'd snatched from the kitchens, watching the fireworks go off. He turned as someone approached and saw Odin standing there.

"I've still got ten minutes to spare," Loki said cheerfully, swinging his legs like an enthusiastic five-year-old. He finished the pear and turned the core into a small bird, letting it fly away. “I must say, Allfather, you look  _marvelous_  in green. It really brings our your eye.”

“Hilarious,” Odin said in the driest tone possible. Loki grinned looked back out at the fireworks.

"Do you remember when you used to find me up here?" Loki asked. "We'd watch the stars and you'd teach me the names of them."

"I remember," Odin said, leaning against the banister. Loki hummed.

"I enjoyed those evenings," he mused. "I always won at counting the shooting stars." They fell silent and watched the fireworks.

"What do you plan to do?" Odin asked.

"Oh, who knows?" Loki shrugged, still swinging his legs. "I'd quite like to see everything."

"Will you return one day?" Odin asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Loki shrugged. "There are lots of places to go, people to meet, things to see. And I promised Darcy she could join me."

“Who?” Odin asked.

"Darcy Lewis," Loki replied. "I met her on Midgard when I visited Thor the first time. She's human." He smiled and then added "She's my friend. She asked to come with me, and I said yes."

"Loki, it is much to dangerous for a human—" Odin started, but Loki gave him an irritated look.

"Darcy is perfectly capable of defending herself," he said. "And besides, I could use the company. She will be perfectly safe and should she wish to return home, I will of course make sure she arrives there safe and sound." Loki looked down at the dark ground below and said "Humans are  _fascinating_. They live for such a short time, yet they get so much  _done_. We may have better technology, however I think it will be only a few more centuries before they can rival us. And Jane Foster is quite smart; I quite approve of her for Thor. She's very good for him."

Odin narrowed his eye and said "Oh?"

"Mmhm," Loki nodded. "I think you'd like her, if you gave her a chance." He pulled a timepiece out of his pocket and looked at it. "I'll be going now; I've only a few more minutes." He moved back and stood before Odin. They looked at each other for a moment, then Odin said "Loki, I _am_ sorry."

"I know," Loki said, shrugging. "It doesn't make everything okay yet, but I know."

He turned to the wall and slid a finger down it, carefully opening a portal. He then turned back to Odin and said "If ever you need me, Heimdall should be able to find me; I will not hide from him. Will you tell Mother I love her?"

"I shall," Odin said. "She will be disappointed for not being able to say goodbye."

"Oh, but this isn't goodbye," Loki said, shrugging. "What's ten years? It isn't an exile," he smiled, a mischievous gleam in his eyes, "it's adventure knocking at my door."

He stepped through the portal and vanished, Odin watching him go. When he was gone, and the portal had closed, the Allfather turned back to the fireworks, not yet noticing that his armor had returned to its usual color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer isoldam's question: the reason I made Loki a bit older was 1) I wasn't actually sure how old he was and 2) I wanted to make sure he was alive during the Viking Age, so that historically, he'd be alive then, and able to understand what was going on around him. By the end of the Viking Age, if I've done my math correctly, Loki would've been about 550, or 9, if we're going by Aesir terms.
> 
> One more chapter, guys! Can you believe it? Thank you to those who left comments and kudos!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, Welcome to Night Vale, or Doctor Who.

Darcy Lewis's phone went off on her bedside table and she stopped singing to glance at it, putting down her ukulele as she did so. She frowned at the number, but picked it up and said "Night Vale Community Radio, Intern Darcy speaking, how may I help you?"

"Miss Lewis?"

Darcy perked up and said “Hey, Green Eyes! What's up?"

"Um..." There was a pause. "The sky? The moon isn't quite full tonight, but the stars are out and I can see Jupiter-"

"No, Loki," Darcy sighed and face-palmed a minute. "'What's up' means, like, 'what's going on?' or 'how's it going?' or something. Not literally 'what's above you.'"

"Oh," Loki said. There was an uncomfortable silence until she said "Where are you?"

"I am unsure," he said, but didn't sound at all concerned by this. "But could you tell me the coordinates of your current location?"

"Well, I'm still in New Mexico," she said. "Hold on a sec and I'll tell you." She brought up Google and quickly did a search before telling him. He hung up without so much as a goodbye and she huffed, glaring at the phone before hanging up herself and putting it down again. She then picked up her ukulele again and plucked at it.

"I'm back."

Darcy screamed and threw her computer at Loki, who was sitting on the end of the bed. He ducked, then caught it before it hit the floor as she shouted "What the  _fuck_  is wrong with you?"

Loki raised his eyebrows and closed the computer, saying "I did knock."

"Did I say come in?" She demanded.

"No," he he admitted, having the decency to look sheepish.

"Then don't fucking come in!" She snapped and grabbed her glasses off the bedside table, shoving them on her nose.

"You have a lovely singing voice," he said.

"Shoosh, I don't sing around other people," Darcy said.

"My apologies," Loki said, inclining his head. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"Yeah, yeah," she plucked at the ukulele before saying "So, how's Space?"

"I got banished," Loki said. "For ten years."

"Damn," she said. "That's harsh."

Loki shrugged. “I've got wanderlust. I can do whatever I wish without worrying about staining the name of Odinson." He pushed himself back so he could sit cross-legged on the bed, elbows against his knees. "They gave me an hour to clear out of Asgard, however they seem not to know that I can travel without the Bifrost if I must. There are, of course, passages to all the other Realms from Asgard. I've found one or two on Midgard as well, but mostly through other Realms. The one leading to and from Asgard is in the land you call Norway, and it is the one I used."

"Ooohh," Darcy said, nodding and also crossing her legs. "Well, that makes sense. I mean, you guys  _are_  known as the  _Norse Gods_ , sooo..." She grinned at him and said "So what did you do in your hour?"

Loki grinned wickedly and said "Let's just say that Asgard is not likely to forget me anytime soon."

Darcy put her tongue between her teeth, grinning. "That ain't an answer, what didja _do_?"

"Well,  _first_  I turned Thor's hair a lovely shade of blue, and turned his cape pink," he said. "Then I change the color of the Allfather's armor; he looks nice in green. Next I went to see if I had any leftover fireworks and proceeded to strategically place them all over Asgard. I then went to the kitchens and took all of the cutlery and goblets, replacing them with illusions, so they're really made out of sticks. I also cast an illusion on the food so that the eggs look like apples, and the apples look like pears, and so on. Oh! I also threw several balls of yarn over various statues and such, then turned the river surrounded Asgard a rather violent shade of orange."

Darcy was cracking up. "Where did you put the silverware and cups, though?"

Loki shrugged and said "I  _might_  or might  _not_  have placed them around Asgard."

"All in under an _hour_?" She said, gawking.

"I could have done more had I not been so dedicated with the food," he shrugged. "It'll take them  _months_  to figure anything out, especially since not all of the eggs look like apples, just a few of them, same with everything else. Oh, and I also took a few barrels of mead.” He produced two goblets from nowhere and waved a hand over them. They filled with a sparkling liquid and Darcy's eyes widened.

“How did you do that?” She asked, accepting one of the goblets and sniffing it experimentally.

"Easily," he said. "There is a little pocket dimension that I keep things in. Little, personal items. Books and such. Currently, there is a barrel of mead and a few goblets, as well as some gold, silver, and copper coins. But it matters not," he smiled. "So long as I know  _exactly_ where an object is, I can summon it. It's harder if it is not in the same Realm as I am, but not impossible."

"Huh." Darcy sipped the amber liquid and said "It's good. Like apples and stuff. Kinda familiar-ish. Like apple cider, or something. But with more honey."

"It is also one of the most alcoholic drinks in Asgard," Loki replied. "One glass is all you should drink."

"So you can drink more?" She said, tilting her head.

Loki sipped his mead. "I  _can_ , but I prefer to remain mostly sober. I do not enjoy the side-effects of being intoxicated."

"You mean hangovers," Darcy nodded. "Yeah. My tolerance is pretty high, but I don't drink that often anymore. How much do you drink?"

"Usually a glass of wine with dinner," Loki shrugged. "Mead is used mostly for special occasions, like feasts and such."

"So, like, every other week?" She asked. Loki smirked and sipped his mead.

"Seven out of Nine Realms are available to us," Loki said, swirling the goblet in his hand. “"Asgard is off-limits because, unfortunately, I have been banished from there, and Niflheim is the Realm of the Dead, and very difficult to get to. The other Realms are Vanaheim, Alfheim, Nidavellir, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Muspelheim, and, of course, Midgard.” He grinned and said “Where would you like to start?”

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," Darcy said. "This is just like  _Doctor Who_."

Loki blinked. "What?"

"It's this TV show about this alien called 'The Doctor' who travels around in this thing called a TARDIS, which is this blue box that's bigger on the inside, and he makes friends on Earth and takes them to see all of space and time, 'cuz the TARDIS is a machine that can travel through time and space. The Doctor's the last of the Time Lords. The people he takes along are called his companions. He's a thousand years old or something and every time he dies he regenerates into a new person, but he's still the Doctor. We should totally watch it sometime," Darcy said, downing the rest of her mead. "I actually have the first season of the reboot on DVD somewhere..."

"You never answered the question," Loki remarked.

"Oh, sorry! About that, though. I was talking to Jane, since I'm still her Intern and can't leave full time, so how about this," she said, "I'll come with you on weekends, but if you ever just need a place to stay for a couple of days, you can stay here in our humble abode."

Loki was surprised—and though he would never admit it, a little disappointed—but he considered the offer before nodding and saying "That is acceptable."

"I'm glad your Lordship approves," Darcy said, grinning.  
  
"Not a Lord, nor Prince," Loki said, also grinning. "I've been stripped of my rank and name. I am Loki only."

"That's a stupid name," she said. When Loki looked offended, she said "Loki Only. Silly. How about Silvertongue? Loki Silvertongue?" She considered. "Well, you could always be Loki Lewis. I'll tell people you're my fifth cousin ten times removed on my mother's side."

Loki looked at her skeptically and she said "You're right. No one in their right mind would name their kid Loki Lewis."

"I'll think about it," Loki said dryly. "Later."

"There're so many cool names you could use!" She said, looking a bit excited. "Let's use a random name generator."

She opened a new page on her computer, then smirked after a minute saying "Truls Vollan. Albert Kristofferson." She paused and then said "Thorbjorn Hall. Just... no. Gabriel Ostburg. Kevin Tennfjord."

" _Stop_ ," Loki said, flopping back so his head hung over the other side of her bed. "All of those are horrible. I'll figure it out for myself."

"Okay, _fi-ee-nuh_ ," she said, closing her laptop. "Oh, and by the way, Jane said you could sleep on the sofa if you wanted."

She got up and walked towards the living room, Loki following. She pulled out some blankets and sheets and said "Jane's usually up at seven, I'm up and about by seven but get up at, like, eight or nine, and Erik's working on something for SHIELD, so I dunno where he is right now. But lookit! They returned our tech!"

Loki nodded at all the beeping machines and said "What do they do?"

"Well, they beep a lot and sometimes stop working," Darcy said. "But what are they supposed to be monitoring? Space stuff, I think. Thats the machine that spotted your Bi-Bridge."

"Ah," Loki said. He began to put the sheets on the sofa and Darcy said "Bathroom's over there. You good?"

"I think so, yes," Loki said, sitting down on the sofa.

"Cool," she said. "I'm going back to bed. Night!"

"Good night, Miss. Lewis," Loki said.

"Call me Darcy, okay, Sunshine?" She said. When Loki frowned at her, she said "Okay, fine, call me Darcy, okay,  _Anti-Matter_?"

"I'll call you Darcy, just as long as you call me Loki," he said.

“I'll call you Lokes,” she said. "Or Kiki, if you prefer."

" _No_ ," Loki said, glaring at her. Darcy cracked up and Jane suddenly opened her door and said "Will you two shut up? I'm trying to _sleep_."

"Okie-dokie," Darcy said. "G'night Janie!"

Jane glared and closed the door again. Darcy then looked at Loki and said "Whoops. Anyway, g'night, Loki."

"Good night, Darcy," Loki said. She grinned and winked. As she walked away, he asked "What Realm would you like to visit first?"

She thought for a few minutes before smiling and saying "Surprise me. Oh, and I put  _The Great Gatsby_ on the table there. Couldn't find my copy of Princess Bride."

"Thank you," Loki said and watched as she sauntered back to her room, closing the door again. He then laid on his back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling, grinning to himself even as he closed his eyes for a moment. It was a few moments later that he got up and made himself a cup of tea.

 _That wasn't so bad,_  was the last thought he had before grabbing the book off the table and laying down again, careful not to spill his tea. He settled down and flipped the book open, soon becoming too immersed in it to notice that of little importance.

Adventure could knock again tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it; the last chapter of "Am I Cursed?"
> 
> As you may or may not have noticed, this is now part of a series. I'm currently in the middle of writing the next installment, so it may not be posted for a while. Like I said when I started this story, it was already written, it just needed a bit of re-writing and editing. I'll try to finish the next one as soon as possible.
> 
> I'd like to thank you all for following along and for all of the wonderful comments left. I have to admit, I was and still am truly shocked by the response this received, and I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


End file.
